Cows and Elephants

I work and work and work. Then suddenly, a week has gone by. It is already the end of my one-day weekend, and tomorrow it will be Monday again.

Saturday night can be summed up in one picture.


Beer and Dice

We’re at a place called Duke, and it’s a small bar with a very homey feeling. It’s almost one of those places where we walk in and say hi to everyone there. We go there to sit, drink beer, and just talk. Heineken is usually the beer of choice. The dice are used in a game called “Blow Cow” (literal translation from Chinese), or Bullsh*t.

How to play:
There are five dice in each of those cups. You shake it up and secretly look at the numbers you have. Between two players, there’s ten dice, so you try to guess how many of a number there are between the two of you, like three 5′s or four 6′s. You have to one-up the number each time, so if your opponent says two 3′s, you have to say two 4′s or three 3′s. One’s can be wild, unless they’re called out first, then they don’t count. If you think your opponent is bluffing and there really isn’t that many 6′s on the table, then call it, and loser drinks. You can play with as many people as you want, but the more people, the more dice, the harder the math.

Fun Fact: All the drinking games here involve math somehow. If you can’t do arithmetic, you will be passed out on the floor within the hour of playing drinking games with Taiwanese people.

Sunday, we went to the zoo. The Taipei Zoo is quite big, and it was lots of fun. Unfortunately, the Maokong Gondolas got shut down as a result of the typhoons and landslides, otherwise, that’s usually part of the zoo adventure.

The Last of the Celebrations

Yesterday, we went to my boss’ house for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was amazing. There was a real turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberries, and even macaroni and cheese! It was so good, and the house was filled with kids. I’m around kids all day, but these were babies and toddlers and they are so much cuter at that age when they hit you with things.

Then last night, we had my “official” birthday celebration at Plush, which is on the 12th floor of the Living Mall. We reserved a table, and a bunch of people showed up. There was plenty to drink, and the club gave me really cool electric dice shakers as birthday presents and a bottle of champagne. Dan even got me a birthday cake with a candle and everything.

I have to say, my first birthday celebration(s) in Taiwan were surrounded by friends and fun. They definitely know how to party it up here.

Is That You, Lil Jon?


Last night, we went to Luxy again because it was their 5th anniversary party, and Lil Jon was slotted to perform.

Knowing people who know people, we were able to reserve a table at the very last minute. We got there at 11pm and didn’t have to pay cover which would have been $700NT ($21 USD). The place was packed, and after 11:30pm, there was a 30 to 45-minute wait just to get inside. Since our table was upstairs and tucked away into a quiet corner, we were a bit detached from the crowds and the stage. At one point, going down the stairs, we see this on stage:


I was a bit excited because I actually got to see the performer on stage this time and even was able to take a picture. Last time, we were there when Lumidee was supposed to perform, and I totally missed it. So this time around, good job Tina.

But, wait.

If you look at the picture really hard again, you’ll quickly realize it’s not Lil Jon. I’ve seen Lil Jon in concert during Vandy’s Rites of Spring.. and that’s not him at all. Turns out this trio was on stage BEFORE Lil Jon actually came on, and I had completely missed it again.

Night Out On The Town

We went to Luxy for the first time last night. It was a really fancy club, definitely one of those places where you go to be seen. A girl from work knows someone who knows someone who had a table reserved so we got to get in on that. It’s pretty cool to have connections and meet all sorts of people. I guess that’s how you make friends in the real world. Some female artist, Lumidee, was supposed to perform last night but that never happened. We are currently in another typhoon right now, so that might be why. Hopefully, we’ll get another typhoon day tomorrow.

Night Owls

We went out for the first time in the month since we’ve been here. Saturday night, Charles invited Jen&I and some other people from work to have dinner at this house. He made spaghetti, and we just sat around and talked. I got all the dirt about people at work, and it was great merriment all around.

Then, since Jen&I have never been out, we got to experience a hole-in-the-wall pub with no name, which was filled with Americans and Canadians. I’ve met my first Canadians here in Taiwan, although Canada is so much closer to Nashville than Taipei. The cab ride there was ridiculous and quite informative because there’s a girl at work who’s learning Chinese, and I tried to serve as their translator as she was trying to find out his life story. Apparently, he’s 36, not married, but is looking for a decent traditional and conservative Taiwanese girl. He said that all Taiwanese girls do now is go out and party every night and are only attracted to foreign guys. When ThuVan asked if he liked to go out and party every night, he said that he would rather stay home with his wife and play with his kids. Adorable. Although, his personal saying (loosely translated) is “There are no good women in Taiwan. All the good ones are married.”

However, I beg to differ.