and everywhere in between

driving in a pack is awesome. i can see why there are motorcycle gangs. tonight, 8 or 10 of us drove to a thai place in nan kan for carly's birthday dinner and it was so much fun to drive with people you know around you. they all drive faster than i usually do, so maybe part of the excitement was flying around turns and zipping past other people?

when we got back home, we went down into the garage one after another like a little mototcycle/scooter parade. it sounds lame now that i'm typing this, but you'll just have to imagine the awesomeness. for 3 minutes, we were our own little biker gang of english teachers.
dinner was reaalllly good. pad thai made by people who are truly from thailand. it came with an elegant little presentation of crushed peanuts on a lettuce leaf and a wedge of lime and then 4 white ceramic sugar bowls with sugar, chili oil, chili flakes and fish sauce to add according to your tastes. for $5.
carly is from england and she's here with her boyfriend, steph. they're so caring and sweet toward each other even though their style is kind of unconventional. love carly's eggplant colored hair.. she reminds me of my favorite parts of studying abroad in brighton.
that cake was chocolate with a layer of blueberry jam. it alllmost tasted like cake from home. i don't know how to describe taiwanese cake except to say that it's just full of air and doesn't have much of a taste. if your eyes were closed, you wouldn't be able to tell what flavor it is.
the best part of desserts are the teeny little utensils they come with. i know people will think i'm one of those weirdo's who's obsessed with the country she briefly lived in, but i'm definitely going to serve desserts with miniature spoons and forks from now on.