寒假! Winter Break!

 A little over a week ago we started winter break. This break is almost a month long, so it makes up for Christmas and February break that we don't have in Taiwan. So far it's been pretty relaxing with not a ton on our plates, which is very different from the many rehearsals and appointments that we usually have during vacation. 

One of our tasks is to find a violin and/or cello to rent for the next semester. Both me and my mom have missed playing our instruments, so we have visited a couple of music shops and tried out some instruments. We also recently got a piano! We are borrowing it from our church pianist's friend. It's an old short little four octave synthesizer that doesn't sound like a piano, but I shouldn't be too picky. It was FREE! 

Violins we tried at a string instrument shop.

I've been spending my days slowly chipping away at my homework. My assignment for P.E. class is to keep track of when I exercise. Bob and I have gone to the park to play basketball a couple times this week, and I sometimes go for a walk around the baseball field near our house. For my science homework I have to memorize the periodic table in Chinese, and the elements' scientific symbols.

A few days ago we went to Big City, a mall in Hsinchu city, with the hope of going ice skating, but unfortunately the rink turned out to be very small and for children on a team. 😭 So instead I ate a lemon custard thing and mom and Bob ate one that looked like quiche. Because it was a Friday (and we get boba every Friday) later we got boba from a place we hadn't tried before called "Cha Time". Mine was yummy!

Lemon custard and quiche thingys.

Mango QQ Pearl Boba. (QQ means chewy in Taiwan)

Plastic food at Big City.

Last weekend we invited some friends over for lunch. Mom made lasagna for the main course, Bob made garlic bread, and I made homemade bubble tea! Our guests brought bubble tea and cheesecake too, so there was plenty of food to go around. After lunch there was a scavenger hunt that Bob set up and along the way we found chocolates. The final prize was a 紅包 red envelope with money inside! It is a tradition for Chinese new year that adults people give money to children. I like that tradition, although I probably won't as much when I get older.

Mom's homemade lasagna.

As for the rest of vacation, we might go stay in Hualien for a couple days of getaway, and/or go explore Taipei. Happy Chinese New Year, the year of the Ox! 新年快樂！恭喜發財！

~Soleil Huang-Dale