第二十四個星期：I Ate a Lot of Dumplings

星期二：We came back to Kaohsiung on Monday night, and then spent most of Tuesday catching up on sleep and homework. In the evening, though, we went to the campus of Kaohsiung City University where we rode bikes and stopped at a pond to look at some fish. That evening we also took a trip to Costco which was weirdly American.

(taking a break from biking to look at some fish)

星期三：Today we all slept in again, and then went out for some nice brunch where I ordered what were almost breakfast tacos, so that was good. My host mom and little sister then took me to the Aozihdi Park to see some turtles in the pond there. There were so many turtles, but the main adventure was that we ran into two separate ladies walking in total four Chihuahuas and they let us hang out for a while hold them. It has been so long since I pet a dog, so that was fun.

(a cute turtle at the pond in the park)

星期四：Today we started back up with classes, though other than the exchange students, most students at Wenzao still have half a month off of break. We at least don't have afternoon class yet, though, so after morning class, I went to the stationary store, and then decided to get some soup dumplings at a shop I knew was nearby. While the soup dumplings were good, I also ordered a bowl of just soup and managed to spill it everywhere, so the shop owner wasn't super happy and now I probably won't go back for like a month because, being an obvious foreigner, I'm very much recognizable.

(my dumplings and soup right before I spilled the soup)

星期六：Today we had to have Saturday class to make up for a holiday later in February, but after class Heather, Joey and I went shopping and ate dessert together. It was pretty fun since Joey isn't usually one for going out. Plus I got some delicious tiramisu pie. Heather and I then planned to meet up later that night, so I headed off across town to get some soup dumplings I'd read about. It turned out that the restaurant was just like three tables in an alley, and when I asked the owner if they had a menu, he answered that they literally only serve soup dumplings, which was great because that's what I wanted. Even though the restaurant was kind of not even a restaurant, they were by far the best dumplings I've had so far.

After dinner Heather and I met up and went to the Love River where they had a New Years celebration set up for the Lantern Festival. While it's still a week away, and the last of 15 days of the new year, the Lantern Festival is known for fireworks and light shows. We first saw some fireworks, and then walked by the ricer where they had a bunch of lit up statues and light creations along with a night market. It was really fun and felt very New Years-y.

(Joey, Heather, and me getting some dessert)

(the best dumplings everrr)

(lights by the Love River)

( the Moon Goddess)

(giant dragon light)

(Me with a giant lucky cat)

星期天：Today my host family was busy, so I went out and bought lunch at a different soup dumpling place (I'm on a roll this week) and also bought some pineapple tea. I ate at a park until it suddenly started raining, then decided, instead of being productive, to nap pretty much all afternoon.