Strawberry Picking

A big group of us, about 13, met at Neihu MRT on a quest for Strawberries. I was actually supposed to go to this same Strawberry farm about a month earlier with another friend, but the trip got rained out. I was grateful to have a second opportunity to pick fresh strawberries, my favorite food. And with a large group of friends, at that! We split two cabs up the mountain, and it wasn’t long before we were standing on a curb outside the strawberry farm.

When we got there, the strawberry lady gave us a small, cardboard box sleeved with a plastic bag. Susan and I teamed up and tried to harvest all the best berries left before the others. It was toward the end of the season, so a lot of the bigger berries had been taken. Despite being small, they were still delicious.

Apparently Susan and I went a little overboard on our strawberry picking because the strawberry lady told us that we weren’t supposed to put so many in the box, as the weight will crush the ones the bottom. Whoops!

We split them into two boxes, and the bottom layer of berries was only slightly damaged. Being the strawberry lover I am, no strawberry is truly damaged. Most could be salvaged by cutting out a small dark spot. I’m a big proponent of saving strawberries. Maybe it’s a social justice cause I should spend more time on. “Don’t ever let a human tell you you’re damaged goods, you’re stronger for your imperfections!”

Someone mentioned there was a strawberry smoothie on the menu, and I was already getting out my change purse to order one. Wow, they were delicious. It was a sorbet texture made from fresh strawberries from the farm and ice. In retrospect, I wish I ordered two. I ate my strawberry concoction with a spoon as we busted out a table-wide game of Avalon. As usual, out of three games I was mostly on the “bad guys” team. At this point people were getting pretty tired, so we decided to walk around the area before heading back.

We walked across a scenic suspension bridge, took some photos, and waited for the small shuttle bus to pick us up. The ride in the packed bus down winding roads was dizzying. It was a relief to finally unload and be on solid ground back in civilization (with strawberries in hand).

We decided to take the MRT a few stops to a big shopping mall, and ate at the food court. I got to know a lot of new people on this trip, especially over dinner. With board games, new friends, and strawberries, it goes without saying that this day trip was another successful excursion for Mandarin Allison.

Mother’s Day Performance

A quick update on my teaching here in Taiwan— my kindergarten class of 4 and 5-year-olds crushed their big Mother’s Day performance on stage, in front of their parents! It was literally months in the making. We started practicing for this back in March. I wrote the script and chose the music they would be singing and dancing to. With some assistance from my boss, I also helped choreograph the dance moves and line changes. I drew and painted the entire set, which took hours. It was great to finally see all their hard work pay off. They were so excited (and adorable) in their animal costumes, which corresponded the script I wrote. The story was a twist on the Three Bears fable, and since the theme was “Mother’s Day,” Baby Bear was on a mission to find the perfect present for Mama Bear. The ducks were too small, the horses were too big, but the geese were just right!

Enjoy a video of the performance below:

The Dinner Group Reconvenes at Sylvia’s

The previous meeting of the dinner group was at an Indian restaurant, which obviously had delicious food, but it wasn’t as special as a home-cooked Taiwanese feast. Sylvia and Fan brushed off the cooking like it was nothing, but the spread was incredible. Chopped egg plant topped with garlic, cilantro, and spices was one of my favorites, along with another plate of tender, marinated beef. I absolutely need to get those recipes! It was such a comfort to have a nice meal after a stressful day of teaching. Thank you, Sylvia. It is totally my turn to host next and I want to make Mexican food 🙂