Stella VS. 台灣啤酒 (Taiwan Beer)

Stella! As most of you know it's my beer of choice. I've also named my favorite gadget in the world iStella. I equate this to New York which is my home of choice.

台灣啤酒 (Taiwan Beer). This is what I drink now. I equate this to Taiwan. Both serves its purpose and both does it's job, but at the end of the day my little taste buds prefer Stella over Taiwan Beer, at least in the 3 weeks I've been drinking Taiwan Beer. It doesn't mean that I won't grow to love Taiwan Beer and it doesn't mean that Taiwan Beer is horrible, it's just new and I'm getting used to it's "taste"

It's funny the moments I miss New York. I am typically a very go-with-the-flow kind of a person and typically don't have very strong feelings about where to go, what to eat, or what to do. Sometimes I see John's forehead get all crinkled because he is dying for me to make a decision of where to go and eat. With that being said, I find myself some Tuesday nights with an intense urge to go to Sol De Mer and have their Lobster special. Or a late night on Saturday when all I want to do is go to next door to El Loco Burrito and grab a Picadillo Buritto the size of my head. But those are luxuries in the past and we find ourselves creating other luxuries in Taiwan.

For example John and I were laughing the other night about how we had not eaten McDonalds in almost 2 years and before we were even in Taiwan for a full 4 days we had already had Mc

Donalds twice. It's amazing how in New York I never would get a craving for McDonald's but now that we are in Taiwan there is this strange thing that happens when we stay up past midnight...it's like the only thing that sounds good is a cheeseburger. Bad news is the McDonald's by our house does not serve beef between the hours of 12:00 am to 5:00 am which sort of puts a damper on that craving.

Below are some additional luxuries that John and I have encountered since our move to Taiwan and along with the luxuries comes a little bit of not so luxurious.

1. 大頭-(Big Head)- He is one of two kitties that John and I currently live with. Having not grown
up with any animals I have always been hesitant to get a pet, despite John's constant urging, however after living with this kitty for 3 weeks I can see why people love animals. With that being said, 大頭 has already peed (in my shoes), puked a hairball (right by my feel) and pooped (outside my bedroom door). So I will continue to visit 大頭 during my time in Taiwan but may hold off on cleaning up any puke, pee or poop that isn't my own.

2. Fashion. I've seen some of the best accessories ever in Taiwan. My favorite by far is this knitted hat that comes with a mustache. However, when it rains constantly through winter and never gets all that cold I opted to get myself an umbrella first before this adorbs hat.





3. Art-John and I recently went with a friend to see Ai Wei Wei who is currently at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and he had an installation up called Forever Bicycle which I thought was amazing *sidenote* that's John there with his arms crossed beneath all the bikes. Ai Wei Wei also lived in New York City's East Village during the late 80's to early 90's and had hundreds of photos of him there which made me so super nostalgic to see. On the flip side there were 5 huge signs around the museum saying that the "intense new bike smell was not dangerous to your health" and when people put that many signs up letting you one thing while huge fans blew through the room it did make me reconsider the message.

4. "Fun"Due Friday. One of the saddest parts of leaving New York and even living in LA for a few months was the lack of access to our beloved familiar kitchen. John and I are known to spend an entire weekend in cooking, gardening and eating straight from the backyard. However, we got super lucky when we moved to Taiwan because our current roommates are chef extraordinaires. We've not only had Fondue Friday, but have woken up to fresh scones, Chili Sunday and even a Fiesta Saturday with 7 layer dip and fish tacos. All in all, it's been a delicious time. On the down side of life, all ingredients Western cost $5.00 more than an arm and a leg.


5. Last but not least-new and old friends galore. As much as we miss our family, our friends and our beloved city, John and I quickly realized how lucky we are to have a small nuclear base already in Taiwan. From the moment we arrived we have had friends we've known for over 10 years take us out, show us around, and help us tackle everything from apartment hunting to getting our keys made in Taiwan. We've also been introduced to new friends like the owner of a delicious little restaurant down the street who will make my 油條臭豆腐 without stinky tofu but with fragrant tofu. And for that he will be a new friend for life. Also, the friend of a friend who was kind enough to give us her 20% discount on Ikea so that John and I may furnish our new apartment. But mostly for our friends and family back at home who have reached out and given us names of their friends who are in Taiwan so that John and I have more contacts than we know what to do with!