So fond, in fact, that I will honor you by doing the touristiest possible thing: ride the world's fastest elevator to the 91st floor of the world's tallest (completed) skyscraper!
And, let me tell you, this elevator is fast. With disbelief in our hearts we watched the numbers tick away, but when it hit 91 the doors opened and there we were! I'm not entirely sure how they do it (without ear popping!), but dang if it doesn't do its job!
This yellow behemoth is the stabilizer, something which I also don't completely understand but that plays a big part in the building not falling down. My thanks, stabilizer!
All this was after a day full o' classes (survival Mandarin - still fun! andcontent="Microsoft Word 12">US-Taiwan and China-Taiwan Relations - informative and vaguely saddening!), so we were all pretty beat. At this point in the trip, we're all feeling the effects of a week and a half or constant busyness (completely different from business) and, as a result, chilling more often than going out. We did manage, however, to take a stroll to the night market for one of Taiwan's most infamous culinary works - stinky tofu! And boy howdy, is it ever stinky.
There are actually two varieties, fried and boiled. The boiled is the rankest, unmistakable from up to 20 feet away, more if you're downwind. I'm a little ashamed to admit I only sampled the fried 臭豆腐, but at close range it also stinks! It is still legitimate!
A fun fact about the character 臭，pronounced chou, meaning stinky. The top radical, 自, means oneself but can also refer to the nose because when you refer to yourself you point at your nose. The bottom half, 犬, means dog. So! Nose -> dog, stinky! Fun, right?
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