It's Friday Night! Let the Party... Be Over Soon

OK, I know I'm old. And I know it's incredibly lame to be in a really awesome foreign country cooped up in my hotel room alone on Friday night.

But y'all, after a day of training, my brain hurts, I'm tired, and I really just want to sleep.

So I'm sitting here, and I keep hearing this guy laughing really loud. Then a little later on there's laughing and yelling (of the good-natured, perhaps alcohol-induced variety). Then they add a drum to the mix. I gotta wonder if Matthew McConaughey is in that room, y'know? I know the earplugs are not going to cut it on this one. And while yes, I'm a grumpy, tired old chick, this seriously is the loudest party I've ever heard in a hotel.

But onward. Let's talk about some Taiwan, shall we?

Someone at work gave me this juice yesterday... and someone else promptly told me, "I don't enjoy that taste." Hmmm. I haven't been brave enough to try it yet. Fruits and veggies living in harmony in one box? Scary thought!


Speaking of fruits, that's the only noteworthy thing I ate at lunch today, and I really wish I'd taken my camera to the cafeteria. When will I learn? I had rice noodles with greens (very similar to the pictures from last night), as well as some fried dumplings, which of course were quite tasty.

The guys I was eating with saved the fruit for the end of lunch. Of course there's really no English translation that they know of for either of the two fruits I ate, so I'll have to describe them as best I can. The first was served on its branches, just as grapes would be served in the U.S., only the fruit was much larger and the branches were much thicker. The fruit itself had a pit about the size and shape of a small grape, surrounded by very juicy, white flesh. There was a rind, colored red and brown, that you peeled off prior to eating. It was sweet and delicious, about the size of a small plum with the rind on.

The second fruit was about the size, shape and color of a pear. The bottom was different though; it resembled more of, say, an orifice rather than the bottom of a pear. I won't go into the table discussion around this fruit; probably some of y'all are more easily offended than I. The four guys at the table were quite amused, though. This second fruit was not as sweet as the first. The texture of the fruit was similar to an apple, and the flavor was sort of apple-like.

Since I'm too tired to think of a decent transition, I'll just skip it and say that every time I get into the elevator I want to take a picture of it. I finally did today. The co-worker who was with me thought I was nuts, of course. But seriously, is this the coolest elevator you've ever seen, or what? It has this great mirrored thing going on inside and out, and when you get in, you have to badge in to pick your floor. Fayn-cee! On the outside, it has LED displays that show you what floor each of the elevators is on, with scrolling arrows moving up or down. Because why have a plain up or down arrow when you can have one that MOVES?

Between trainng sessions today, I went up to the cafeteria to get a Coke, and I noticed this view out the window of the stairwell. Nice, no?

OK, so while I'm talking about going to the cafeteria to get a Coke, there are a few other differences between Taiwan and the U.S. There are virtually no Coke machines here. The only place in the building that I know I can get a soda is in the little shop in the cafeteria that sells all kinds of drinks and snacks (still not a Coke machine).

There are also no trash cans distributed around, which I find odd. At any major company in the U.S., there is a small trash can in every cube. Not here! To find a trash can here, you have to go to the restroom, the cafeteria, or the break room. I do have to give them a big pat on the back for their recycling efforts; everything in the break room is broken out with pictures so you know where to put each kind of waste and everything is recycled if possible. But not having a trash can within a few steps takes a little getting used to.

OK, tell me the truth: am I the only one fascinated by other countries' currencies? I'm probably just weird, but what the heck. This is probably the only time I'll ever hold a $1000 bill, so I'm going to enjoy it, even if it's only worth $33USD. Here are the fronts and backs of the Taiwanese $1000, $500 and $100 bills.

Oh! I went down to the lobby earlier this evening to let them know that I have a need, and it is for pepperoni, please and thank you, and would you believe the pizza they're talking about is Domino's? I mean, pizza that is supposed to meet all your needs should be, I dunno, Gino's East. Or at the very least, Papa John's. But it was pretty decent.

I think I'll have cold pizza for breakfast. With some fruits and veggies living in sweet harmony in a box.