I came back and did some laundry, while getting things ready for when I leave. Later in the afternoon, I went to the office to clean my desk. Thank God someone threw out the banana that I forgot about. There were about six syrup maple leafs (I dubbed them Golden Maple Leaves), and I left them to whoever wanted one, with a sticky that read 加拿大唐 - Jeff(朱永強) (Canadian Candy - Jeff (my Chinese name)). When I sat back down, the person next to me handed me something, and I'm not quite sure what it is - haha, our relationship. Regardless, I said 卸卸你 (thank you), and she she said 不客氣 (you're welcome), but sounded a bit sad. Maybe she knew I was leaving. I stayed until the last person, getting to say goodbye to everyone that was there. I still don't really know what their names are, but I'll miss them. They too, became 我的家 (my family), and I'll miss their antics, saying good morning, and byebye at the end of the day.
I had planned to go on another foodventure (this post isn't about a foodventure, so it doesn't need to be capitalized), but opted to stay around Zhanghe, since I don't know when I'd be back. I went to get dinner, and took pictures of all the usual places that I went to. I didn't try as many as I thought I would have.
I went to the bento box place first, and tried different side dishes, with 甜酸肉 (sweet and sour pork). Instead of retreating to my room like I usually do, I decided to have dinner outside, in the Zhanghe courtyard. It was relaxing, and something I wish I had done more often. It was a nice way to enjoy my meal. I even got a green elastic instead of the usual brown/red one. #Symbolism
After my relaxing dinner, I went to Meet Tea. I wanted to try something new, and read over the menu. The boss, Rick, whom I talked to before in English, noticed and read my mind. I asked him what he recommended, and we agreed on something with 鮮果 (fresh fruit). I also got some 糖糖圓 (mochi balls). I was told that I would have to wait 5minutes for my tea because they had to make fresh tea. If I had known, I wouldn't have made them go through the troubles! But they're very kind. While, I was waiting, I struck up a conversation with Rick and learned a lot about him. He actually owns Meet Tea, and a clothing store in Taipei. I thought that was really impressive. We talked a bit longer, and I wanted to get a photo with him, but he had to talk to someone about the business - that's the life of an entrepreneur I suppose. It was nice a nice chat though!
It was getting late (20:30), but I didn't want to go home yet. I, instead, decided to walk around the street, taking in as much as I could. It was nice to see it at night, just as it is to see it during the day. But, here, day and night are two different things. Different restaurants flip, from 早餐/早餐 (breakfast/lunch) to 早餐/晚餐 (lunch/dinner) - it's nice to experience both. I waked to 中和廟 (Zhonghe temple), and peeked in to see what it looked like. It was beautiful, and gold shimmered from wall-to-wall. It also had a strong incense smell, I liked it.
I didn't want to overstay my welcome in the temple, and didn't really know what to do, so I left. Outside I noticed a group of seniors practicing martial arts. It was sort of like taichi mixed with swords. It looked relaxing and very fluid. I awkwardly stood aside and tried to follow some of the movements that they were doing. Their movements were very fluid and precise. It did feel really relaxing, and it is something that i want to practice when I return to Winnipeg.
It was a perfect night; the moon was out, it wasn't too hot, and there was a nice breeze.
I'll miss you Zhanghe,
JC(3.14)
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