Journey & Adventure in Taiwan: Week 1
On June 3rd, 2018 my journey to Tainan, Taiwan began. Almost 24 hours later I landed in what would be my new home for the next two months. A special thanks goes out to the wonderful World Food Prize with the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship that I was granted providing this amazing opportunity. Along with being charged with conducting research at The World Vegetable Center Headquarters in Tainan, Taiwan. With taking this trip to Taiwan I knew I would be getting submerged into a completely different culture. Even though I had traveled outside of the United States prior to this internship I had never been to Asia before.
When I first arrived in Taiwan it was nighttime so I couldn’t see that much, but one conclusion I did make was that it was really hot. It was extreme humidity type of hot that takes some time to get use to. During my first week here I met the people that I would be working with, learned more about the local area and the Taiwanese culture. I even got the chance to try a fruit called Lychee. As well as getting my body to adjust to the twelve hour time difference. Including taking in all the beautiful scenery. At the The World Vegetable Center I work in the gene bank. The purpose of a gene bank is to conserve the germplasm of vegetables over a longer period of time. The gene bank conserves 55,836 different species. Everyone that works in this unit is really friendly and willing to help if and when you need it. A new found friend of mine Shin-yee and I were talking and somewhere in the conversation I mentioned that I like mango's. Little did I know there is a mango tree in front of where she lives, so the next day when she comes in she hands my a bag I look inside and see mango's.
Now going into the weekend originally I had no plans. That was until Ms.Aileen messaged me asking if I would like to go to the flower night market with her and Hazel another Intern at the The World Vegetable Center who is from Vietnam. The night market is in Tainan City which is the closest city to us. We arrived at the night market around six-thirty pm. Ms.Aileen wanted to get there a little earlier so that was could eat a good amount of food before the market became to crowded. Now there are two sides to the night market on one side they sell food and beverages and on the other side they sell clothes, jewelry, etc. The side where the food is tends to be a lot busier than the other side of the market.
With taking this trip I was really excited to try the street food that is served at the night market. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE food! Along with the fact that I have no problem trying new foods whether I had heard about it previously or not. At the night market no matter what you are craving there is at least one station that could satisfy that craving. They had everything from pork to squid cooking the food in different ways from grilling to frying. While there I tried this dish that is basically a deep fried sweet potato ball. They were really good they weren’t overly greasy or extremely dry it was cooked perfectly. I also tasted a Spring Onion Pancake it looked like a pancake and it almost tasted like one but it wasn’t as sweet as a pancake it also had scallions in it. With a Spring Onion Pancake they will also put pepper and other seasoning on top of it which actually helped to give it more flavor. Now this next dish is very interesting its called stinky tofu. I would just like to say that the aroma of this dish most definitely lives up to its name. Ms.Aileen and Hazel told me that stinky tofu has a very strong taste to it so either you like it or you don’t there is no real in between. I can once again attest to the fact that it does indeed have a very strong taste. When I first tried it I didn’t really know how I felt about it. Stinky tofu is for a truly acquired taste. As a drink I tried Double condensed milk tea which is really good.
While walking through the night market I was truly mesmerized by all the different foods I saw being prepared. Along with absorbing and learning more about Taiwanese culture and cuisine. Ready for the journey’s and adventures that Taiwan has in store for me.
