Going back to Taiwan

I'm scheduled to fly back to Taiwan on September 8... the EVA Air flight takes off at 2 am local time and arrives at 5:45 am local time on September 9 (yes, you lose an entire day)! The flight takes almost 13 hours but the time change is 15 hours... it's actually easier on the body than traveling to the UK, I think.

I am booked into coach on this trip so I will get to try that class of food this time. (On my first trip to Taiwan, I got free upgrades to Premium Laurel (first) class on the way to Taiwan and business class on the way home; the food was excellent in every way, if somewhat odd sometimes).

This trip will be a month long, and is primarily meant to train me in the processes used by HTC, to introduce me to everyone, and to get me started on my work. I'll be returning October 9th.

I've discovered that there's an IKEA in central Taipei and I'll be headed there within the first 24 hours. On my list:

• a non-feather pillow and duvet (the ones in the suite are all feathers, and I am allergic)
• a cheap set of silverware, a sharp knife, and a few bowls
• an electric fan
• a pair of scissors (too hard to travel with, too hard to live without)
• those unbelievably good crispy oat chocolate-dipped cookies
• Swedish meatballs!

I can't get anything too heavy at IKEA because I have to transfer three times on the MRT (green line from Dapinglin, then red line at Guting, then change to the blue line at Taipei Main Station, then change to the orange line at Zhongxiao Fuxing, then get off finally at Nanjing E. Road and walk one block) -- it will be an adventure for sure!

I have to admit that I am considering freezing a couple quarts of spaghetti sauce and/or chili to take with me. I just can't imagine living completely without those foods for a month. Insane? Sensible? What do you think?

UTENSIL(s): None

First dinner in the HTC cafeteria

Ben (from the Philippines) and Joe (from the UK) took me to dinner tonight. They're two of the technical writers that I'd be working with all the time.

I was on the fork situation this time and didn't embarrass myself too much with the chopsticks. The guys both used them without problems, but to be fair, they've both been in Taiwan for years and years... Joe actually speaks Chinese well enough to argue with his landlord about the rent! :-)

For dinner, I had really delicious fried chicken (this will be one of my staples, for sure), white rice with some soy sauce, and the broad flat noodles (in Seattle they call them hand-shaved noodles; I'll have to find out what they're really called, but they're probably twice as broad as fettuccine) with bok choy. Not exactly health food, and I find it so odd that you're not ALLOWED to get food from the cold salad bar and from the hot buffet bar. Shouldn't EVERYONE eat a little salad?

Another thing that seems really odd to me about the cafeteria is that NOBODY has a drink with their meal. There are no facilities to even get a glass of water in the caff, never mind tea or soda. Most people do get soup (miso only, unless you go to the noodle bar station) but that's salty too, not cool and refreshing. I really expected that some kind of tea would be completely standard, like it is in Chinese restaurants in the States, but I guess it just isn't. I'll pay attention to beverage options as I dine in restaurants to see if this is common or not.

People also eat a lot less than the average American does. I totally expected that and with my nerves and the fact that I was trying to eat dinner at 2 in the morning stomach-time, had no problem eating less than I might otherwise.

UTENSIL(s): chopsticks from cafeteria (terrible technique), plastic fork from Starbucks

First meal in the HTC HQ Cafeteria

During my day of final interviews, my new manager, Lillian, kindly took me to lunch in the company cafeteria. I embarrassed myself by hunting for a fork; Lillian said she would get me one and in the end, had to go all the way out to the lobby to Starbucks to get me one! I will definitely be bringing my own in the future....


Choices included a tofu bar (called "Natural Alternative"), a noodle-soup station, an uninspired cold salad bar, and a hot buffet line with probably 10 choices (you take 2-3 side dishes, 1 main, miso soup, and brown or white rice).


We chose the hot buffet, and the food I liked best was the duck-blood pate with sour squash... I can't explain that, but it was actually delicious with brown rice. The sauteed pork just sucked by comparison, and I actually got up for a second helping of the duck. LOL


Lillian and I had a great conversation, ranging from our families, to travel, to fruit we like (I tried fresh guava for the first time, and that got us started there), and a little bit about food. She confessed to not much liking the cafeteria where we were eating because it gets very boring; I can see that. :-)


I got a real kick out of the signage where you dropped off your dishes. There were three lines: Buffet Persuasion, Noodle Persuasion, and Other Persuasion.


UTENSIL(s): chopsticks from cafeteria (terrible technique), plastic fork from Starbucks

My first food in Taiwan

My driver brought me this 7-Eleven Delicious Sandwich with a flourish, pronouncing it "my breakfast". A sweet gesture to be sure but I was glad I had an awesome breakfast on the plane!

Note: I did not eat the Delicious Sandwich; this is not my kind of thing. Instead, I put it in the communal fridge, where it was eaten within 12 hours.


UTENSIL(s): proper metal fork, knife, and spoon in Premium Laurel (first) class on the EVA Air plane flight; none used to drink strawberry yogurt beverage in the private car