Photo Essay: CET Taiwan

June 20, 2019

Photos by Nicola Kalderash (University of Washington), Student Correspondent CET Taiwan Summer 2019

We rode the gondolas to reach Maokong, a little town within the city known for its tea flavored foods and beautiful sweeping views. There’s even a crystal gondola with a transparent floor if you’re willing to wait!

Don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this matcha green tea cookie. Haha. Here is an example of tea flavored food I mentioned. Black tea ice cream in this case!

The beautiful thing about a view like this is recognizing how small we are in the world and how we should appreciate the beauty that exists outside these concrete trees we created!

In Taiwan, we have two residences. A more by the book dorm closer to the campus and a penthouse apartment further away from campus. Totally random which one you’ll end up in, but me and my seven other housemates ended up here in the penthouse. It’s quite spacious and this is only one of the floors! Good luck on your random placement! Haha.

Here is an image of what’s left of the West Gate as a memorial. There used to be a city wall around Taipei. Now called Old Taipei. There was a gate entrance here at this spot until the Japanese tore it down by mistake. How unfortunate.

Living in Taipei is like living in any big city. It has things to do and businesses keeping it running. Like this bank for example. Everyone has to be financially responsible! Bankers were quite friendly here and willing to help!

Here’s a picture of the CET Taiwan 2019 Crew posing in front of the President’s building. It is under reconstruction. Unlike the White House, the president does not live in this building. Fun fact, she’s up for reelection this January and many rally’s were going on in the street this day!

Something you’ll never see. An empty train! Everyone uses these things and they run at each stop every few minutes. Do not eat or drink on them. That is a big no no. Courtesy and respect is very important in Taipei. They share this in common with the Japanese and I hazard a guess was imparted into citizens during Japan’s 50 year rule of the country

Here is a fun fact picture. In Taipei, you’ll see a lot of these spaces in the city. You may think man, people really love crane games here, and you’d be partially right. These are definitely lucrative but actually these are put in spaces as placeholders when a business goes out of business and seeking a new tenant. Competition is tough out here!

Okay, that’s all the interesting I have to share for now! See you later! Travel safe!