Tainan! part III-Banquet!

so of course, who does not love food? The conference ended (well, not really, since there was half of saturday) with a banquet. must I say, if you hated seafood, you would have starved that meal, or at least the majority of it.

so many of the grad, Ph.D, and post docs that attended the conference put up posters that described their research and their results. Each individual had an option of whether or not to enter their poster in a competition that would result in a monetary reward if selected as a finalist. Needless to say, Dr. Jung-Hsin Lin, our mentor, made each one of his students submit their poster into competition. (haha) There were 3 categories, and each category had 5 selected finalists. The finalists then had to present their poster/research/powerpoint (in english) in front of a panel of judges for . When the finalists were announced on thursday, every one, well, except for Yang-Shan Lin, of Dr. Lin's students were so happy they did not get chosen (they were all afriad of having to present in english the following day). After the presentations were given and judged, the results were announced at the bandquet. When 3rd place was announced for the group Yang-Shan was in, we were all thinking that he got 4th or 5th place. (but oh well, he got at least 3000NT or 2000NT) after 2nd place was announced, it pretty much confirmed our assumption, to the point where we didn't even realize that Yang-Shan's name was called for 1st place! (yay for 8000NT!)

with the winner! (and the first group picture! too bad A-Yeh was not there =( )
seems like Dr. Lin's students is in for a run to take first place each year. Dr. Gwan got first place last year, and even Yo-Hsuan was a finalist.

第一名!
>.<

Tainan! part I-Logistics!

anyways. three days after I arrived in Taipei (I arrived on Sunday night), I took off to Tainan, TW for the Joint International Conference of Biophysics and 14th Annual Conference of the Biophysical Society of ROC ( 第十四屆生物物理聯合研討會) hosted by National Cheng Kung University (國立成功大學). The conference ran from Wednesday-Saturday. Wednesday morning, at 5:50am, I meet Yo-Hsuan Chen down at the lobby of our dorms so we could take the MRT and the public bus to get to Academia Sinica(中央研究院) so that we could take a 5+ hour shuttle bus trip to Tainan. For me, it wasn't early, since I was waking up around 5am every morning anyways. It was actually nice to get up and do something once I woke up instead of trying to go back to bed in my hot, hot dorm room. (didn't help that the sun shines directly into the room during sunrise). On the shuttle bus ride there, everyone from my lab was on bus B and I was on bus C, since I registered much later than they did. But I didn't mind so much, as bus C was pretty empty and I had my own row. Still, it would've been nice to be on the same bus (though honestly, I don't think it would've mattered much since they all slept on the way there cause it was so early for them - and at this point, the only person I knew from the lab was Yo-Hsuan... LoL).

here's pictures of Taiwanese tour buses
bus interior...
We took some bathroom stops on the way, and man, each rest station has SOO many bathrooms, here is just like 1/20 of the bathrooms in a particular rest station. i don't know how many there were, but there was alot

too bad the majority were squat toilets.
So we arrived at Tainan, and since Yo-Hsuan is from Tainan, she meet up with her friends and told me to follow Jing-Yeh Chen and Larry Chen instead. We walked around for a bit looking for a 7-11 (did I mention that Taiwan has a crap load of 7-11s?) so that we could buy a map of Tainan, since neither of them knew the area well and we did not stay at the hotel that they rest of the conference members stayed at to save money. (our hotel ended up being a 25-30 min. walk away). We stopped for lunch, and I ordered a bowl of curry flavored pork noodles. It was ok, considering that I don't really like noodles, and the curry wasn't a strong curry flavor as I would have liked it. After lunch, we wandered around until we found our hotel, Fuh Dih Hotel. A-Yeh and I talked quite a bit, and he's quite interesting. haha.

here's a picture of our hotel sign...
front door...
our room!
i shared a room with Dr. Jean-Fang Gwan (she has a Ph.D!!!). I would really like one of those. (wishful thinking -.-)

we headed to the conference venue around 2:30pm. Basically, the conference consisted of lectures by professors, researchers about their research in various topics. Overall, it was pretty boring, but I am glad I went, it really gave me a chance to get to know some of the lab members (and the members at Academia Sinica) pretty well. (Since we work in a cubicle and all do our own research, my lab does not have a social environment =[ unlike LJue's)

National Cheng Kung University Hospital...since the NCKU's Medical College is linked to the hospital (so is NTU's!), ths hospital was right behind our conference lecture hall

shopping mall or hospital?
I've noticed hospitals in TW look/act more like shopping malls. There are so, so, so many people that go in and out of the hopsital, it's crazy! A-Yeh agree's with me that it is not necessarily the best thing, since it could increase the spread of viruses and the introduction of new viruses to the hospitals would not be surprising since the daily people-flow is so high. Not to mention, hospital cafeterias look like shopping mall food courts in America. I think that some people just go to the hospital for lunch/dinner sometimes. (I totally would if I lived in Taiwan) NCKUH has a much smaller food court and options than NTUH, though.

the proper entrance to the conference venue...
NCKU Medical College!

here is one of the few lectures that me (and the other group members) attended. we didn't even stay for the whole lecture in this particular picture and began ditching more and more. haha

can you spot me? I am wearing a bright green shirt and my hair is in a pony tail. I am sitting next to A-Yeh (and he's wearing white).
we had coffee/tea breaks twice a day throughout the conference, the food was amazing! each break had so many items to choose from it could qualify as a meal. I cannot believe that the registration fee was one 400NT for a non-student. The amount of food provided was rediculous!

can I eat the whole table?

我每天都在醫院裡面!
>.<

Tainan! part II-Play Time!

For dinner on thursday night, We went to Flower Garden Night Market (花園夜市) for dinner. This night market only runs on selective nights - Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, so our timing was just right! We walked around and ate 小吃 for dinner.

the entrance...
a blurry picture of the overview of the night market
On friday night, the conference planners had set up an excursion, also to An-ping. But since none of my lab members were going on the excursion, I decided not to go either. (Half went to watch a movie, some went back to the hotel, and then 3 of us went to An-Ping). Since Pei-Wei Chu is also a resident of Tainan, she borrowed her dad's car and drove us around. I tried An-Ping's famous 東瓜茶 and I thought it was pretty good. (Well, it was very hot, so anything cold would've been good. - Tainan is alot hotter than Taipei) We visited An-Ping Fort (安平古堡), which used to be called Fort Zeelandia (熱蘭遮城). I think going with Pei-Wei and Dr. Gwan was alot more fun than it would have been if I went with the people from the conference. They were too grown up/smart for me! Funny story, before the excursion on friday, I was wondering whether or not I needed to cancel my spot since I wasn't going anymore, so Dr. Gwan went to go ask for me. Man, the conference people were so pissy, they were like "you know its a waste of money, we had to put down a deposit and pay for insurance for each person. this is why we asked during wednesday's check-in. If you didn't want to go, you could have just said no. it's a waste of money you know...blah, blah, blah" I understand their point, but it was funny, because they were so upset and stuff. Chinese people are pretty funny in general though.

We took alot of pictures, but because of the limit I have for my blogspot account, I can't put up everything =(

some ship models...
Pei-Wei told me that these are like "good luck" charms. Students come before exams to the temple to pray to Buddha ( i think?) for good luck on their tests and stick the "charms" here. I doubt they are actually called charms, but I forgot what they are called.

i think its weird some students actually have their pictures on it
Dr. Gwan, me, and Pei-Wei
i think this is actually Fort Anping. Anyways, here is the famous watch tower
and we wanted to take a picture with the scenery outside of the tower, but the girl who took the picture failed to capture the scenery too, oh well =(
Pei-Wei parked her car in the lot of a cemetery. So in case you are wondering what cemeteries in TW looks like, here you go...
Dr. Gwan was like, "why would you want a picture of that?" and then she looked at me funny.

we also went to many temples, but since I cannot remember which temple is which, I will just leave you with this!

再見了安平!
>.<

Time to work!

I have been to work at National Taiwan University College of Medicine (國立臺灣大學醫學院) for two days! Nothing that interesting, I just sit in a cubicle and type away on my computer and work. (or do I). NTU College of Medicine is attached to NTU Hospital (國立臺灣大學醫院), so I walk through the hospital each day. The lobby of NTUH is so grand, it's like a 5-star hotel. At the same time, it gives me the impression of a shopping mall. There is amazing food at the food court, including Korean, Japanese, vegetarian, bakery, bagel/bagel sandwiches, tofu dessert (豆腐花), shaved ice, among other Taiwanese dishes. I haven't taken any productive pictures, except pictures of my monday and tuesday's lunches. LoL

monday's lunch box. only 75 元! and it was really really good!
tuesday, Yo-Hsuan and I went down to the food court and I packed a lunch box at the vegetarian station. My lunch box came with the green bean dessert (綠豆湯) and then Yo-Hsuan bought me the 豆腐花. so y.ummy and cheap. Tofu is like one of my favorite things, but 豆腐花 in the US is very expensive. Needless to say, I had a very fat day.

more yummy food!
However, for the vegetarian entrees I have had before, I like it better when my mom cooks it.

I will take pictures of NTUH, NTUCOM, and my lab/cubicle, eventually

好吃!好吃!
>.<

My home for 2 months!!!

So I know you are all curious what my dorm looks like. Thus, this entry is dedicated to quench such curiosity.

my bed...the desk and shelf and window in relation to my bed
there's no shower curtains... anywhere in TW, including the hotels. I tried to look for one on the streets, but no luck=(

the shower...
the sink and mirror and toilet
the closet and entry way and fridge
the little white box you see on the right hand side wall is the box where we stick in an "electricity card." As we use electricity, the money value decreases (which makes me sad). I therefore sit downstairs to use my computer and charge my electronics when I am outside of work. hehe. way to be asian. (there are quite a few people downstairs throughout the day.. haha)

and finally, the sunrise view from my window ... can you spot a 7-11?
LJue's window view is so so so much prettier, she gets to see Taipei 101!

But I guess one person can't have everything. I am lucky I got a single room. It's 7100元 a month. To Taiwanese people, that seems very expensive. But converted to USD, that's roughly $218 USD a month, which comes out to $7.28 USD a day for a month with 30 days!!! that's much less than I pay now in the US for a double room. I think I am going to live in TW... hahaha
jk jk. Because I need to pay for electricity, I don't turn on the air conditioning, so it's not as comfy as it would be if I turn on the AC. the hallways aren't air conditioned either, so I can't cheat the system. oh well, they have a nice lounge and dining area downstairs for AC purposes.

你喜歡嗎？
>.<

Airplanes, airplanes, and more!!!

journey summary: SAN, USA->LAX, USA->Tokyo Narita, JP->Taipei, TW

SAN->LAX
so the flight from SAN to LAX was short and sweet, in a tiny little plane operated by American Eagle for Japan Airlines (JAL). The flight wasnt too bad, but dude, their check in counter is TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, AND TERRIBLE!!! they had only one guy running the counter and there was like 15 people in line waiting. He worked slower than a snail would walk. There were 5 people in front of me and I waited 40 minutes in line before I could check in. that's 8 minutes a person! Ridiculous!!! All the other airlines had 2+ people working in the counters and their lines was constantly only 2-3 people.

So I arrived at LAX and met up with CWong, who was wearing a mask... oh man, I bursted out laughing when she turned around. HAHAHAHA!!! anyways, she had to get her 2 other tickets issued at LAX because they didn't do it at SJC for some odd reason. MSiy walked backwards after going in through security because he didn't wait for us initially. kinda funny... afterall, security is a pain in the butt to go through. but good thing he did, cause it gave us a chance for some pictures =)

CWong made us walk all-the-way-across Tom Bradley International Terminal to take a picture with Lauren Conrad. haha. oh Chelsea xP

LAX->NRT
Japan airlines is awesome!!! you ask why? well, first of all, they don't serve you peanuts! their rice cracker snacks are amazing! and they have a special (non-alcoholic) drink called "Sky Time" which is really good... oh yea, alcohol is free too! During one of the meals, the flight attendant asked me if I wanted wine or beer with my meal. I told her red wine, so now I have a bottle of red wine sitting in my closet for souvenir purposes =D

before we got on, they told us that they would not have entertainment, we were so so so bummed. they gave us compensation cards in which we could redeem for JAL coupons or mileage. 45mins into the flight, the entertainment starting working!!! good 2-for-1 deal... BUT>>>MSiy and I soon learned that there is not much "entertainment" in their entertainment. I ended up watching bits and pieces of "He's Just Not that into You" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic" over and over again. To this day, I still don't know what "He's Just Not that into You" is about, though I've probably watched it like 6 times.

here was our personal TV!
LoL
so yea, poor CWong was not able to switch seats so that she could sit with us. MSiy and I asked the person on the aisle in our row if they would switch with CWong, but he was like " no, ild prefer not to have a window seat"... but but but... he was sleeping almost the WHOLE time, which was very problematic for MSiy and JChoy's airplane exploration process/walking around cause we have nothing better to do. MSiy had previously looked up that there was a "snack box" on board, and during our second "bathroom trip" we found it. After that, we were like kangaroos, and stashed a whole bunch of snacks in the front pocket of the seat. teehee. other than that, I asked for a deck of JAL palying cards and we ended up playing "13" or "big2"as MSiy called it. He kicked my butt.... REAL bad :(

here's a picture of the two meals we had on board from LAX, US->Narita Tokyo, JP. their food is pretty good and its so cute!

i had halibut for the first meal...(this pic is stolen from CWong's fb cause MSiy and I forgot to take pics of our first meal. she doesn't know it yet, but thanks!)

and everyone had some sort of pasta for the second mealsome pics I took from inside the airplane... thanks MSiy for letting me steal his window seat!

huge wing... even bigger wing during taxi...so after getting swine flu from MSiy for about 12 hours, we finally arrive at Narita Airport and had a nice photo shoot before Cwong and MSiy had to take their next flight to Beijing. I wished we all went to the same location

some flight information...you must be seeing things if you think that this is in Japanese...hahamap of the airport

a Japanese fire extinguisher...and here's a series of bathroom pics... (let's be honest, you know you have an album as such too!)

all the girls standing in the line for the bathroom!!! (gotta love N.E.R.D!!)
take your pick...
i KNEW you would choose this one!
make sure you wash your hands!
and then dry them to prevent airbourne viruses *coughMSiy'sswineflucough*
anyways, here are some more pics from Narita Airport.

their walkway handrails are blue...

they have awesome illustrations on their trash cans...
this looked like a nice lounge, but I didn't go inside. I thought their sign was cool, so I took a pic by it =) CWong and I thought that the figure was cute...
and then we went through the Japanese security...
japanese security item bins. they are so ghetto, you have to put your stuff in, and then carry it to the scanner, instead of sliding it through like in US airports. (I had originally put my stuff into 3 "bins," but because I couldnt carry them, I just ditched the "bins" and carried my stuff. Needless to say, the table was left with empty bins)so after MSiy and CWong took off without me, I decided to wander around some more and took a few more pics!

i first took a pic of the floor...
would you like some plastic Japanese food?

they have cool looking soda machines!!
while walking to board the plain to Taipei...

NRT->TPE
the flight to Taoyuan airport was quite uneventful. I originally asked the flight attendant if I could have an aisle seat, but she said they weren't done boarding yet. This other guy asked another flight attendant right after I did and got the aisle seat I was aiming at. whateves. The flight attendant I origianlly asked came by and told me she could reseat me after take-off, but I didn't want to give her extra work, plus my backpack was huge and would be a pain in the butt to move if the flight was quite full. Turns out, the entire back section had no more than 10 people in it. We had a Boeing 747 Jet.

here's my final meal on JAL. this is the meal where I got my red wine souvenier. haha.
self explanatory...
the hallway was so long and cool looking, this pic is a bit blurry, but its a cool effect, i think
ahaha... its interesting being considered an "alien" or a "non-citizen" for once

台湾很热!
>.<