Day 109 -- Day 3~

It's the third day we're spending in Tainan! The weather was so much better today, although it was still scorching hot!

It wasn't too happy a day for us sadly. We lost the first 3 races of the day and this meant that the Women team, which I'm in, and one of the Men's team did not manage to progress to the next stage. However, we still have one more Men's team that advanced to the next stage, so hope's not lost yet! Also, the international team did EXCEPTIONALLY well! Despite being the last of us to compete for the day, they did not slack off, instead, they had such an awesome timing! 1:39:88 for the race! The best timing ever! When we heard the results, we're so thrilled! They really put in their all into the race and they had indeed raced well! Needless to say, they were given the opportunity to move on to the finals!

Though we (the women small boat team) lost, I'm so grateful to be in this team!
Firstly, the girls are simply AMAZING! Most of us made it a point to attend as many practices we could! There may be times we felt lazy and unmotivated but we still moved our lazy asses to the tracks / pool for training.
Also, this team is so ENCOURAGING! No matter what happened, we are always there to support each other! And this was so obvious during our races! We don't blame, we simply reflect and push each other on to do better. I really love this culture of the team <3
Lastly, but definitely not the least, this team is too FUN to be in! We were always on our way to do some crazy stuff together, cracking jokes with each other and pulling some tricks or another with each other, not to mention the spontaneity of the girls!

At the end of the day, it is all these moments we spent together that pulled us closer. And I am glad that we all know each other by name, something which some teams may to be able to achieve given that the teams were only formed for only 1.5 months!

Day 108 -- Day 2!

We advanced to the next race! This is pretty much the highlight of the day. Ok, no, there were of course more..

The international team did a splendid job today! Though they only started racing today but the results were so good! 1min 40-odd seconds! They are really a strong team! The Men teams did their best too and I'm so glad we all advanced to the next level together!

But sadly, the Women (big) team didn't managed to pass through but we could see that all of them put in their 200% effort and team spirit in the race! It was so close! Nonetheless, it was a race well done!

And the weather today was BAD! It was scorching hot and when I checked (while waiting for our turn to race), the real feel was 38 degrees.. 是要热死谁啊！Spent so much on drinks alone, laying my hands on whatever that were cooling -- Sour plum juice, winter melon drink, plain water, ice cream... but they just don't seem enough at all!

Right now, I'm so tired and still got to wake up early tomorrow! Ciaos~

Day 107 -- 1st day of race

It's official! Just had the first day of races in Taiwan and the teams did so well! The Men Teams, the Women (Big) Team won their first races on the first day! The Women (Small) Team, which I am in, lose in our first race though :( But thank God we are given another chance to compete in one more race. It's going to be our last chance, so by hook or crook, we got to win it to advance to the next level!

So we left NSYSU shortly after lunch and by the time we reached, there were so many people at the Anping River where the competition is held. I had no idea when Bryan told me (when I met them) that there were preparations made. I was thinking it was just the usual tents for the judges and perhaps some of the more professional teams. But when we reached, there were stores set up, something like a mini night market we saw at the Love River during the 15th day of Chinese New Year! Needless to say I was so tempted to eat all the snacks available! Luckily I had Miyuki by my side who was constantly controlling my monstrous appetite for these snacks!

The races were really great to watch! And my favourites were the races in the small boats. The main criterion for the small boats to win is for the first person in the boat, i.e. the flag catcher to catch the flag at the end point. So in the middle of the race, the flag catcher would have to change his / her position from facing the team to facing the direction of the boat's maneuver. I sat in front of a boat during one of our practices before and I knew how difficult it was to maintain our balance in front because our body will move to the momentum of the boat, let alone to change the position to catch the flag! So kudos to the flag catchers!

So the last race for us was the Women (Big) Team and by the time we got back to NSYSU, it was already 9pm. Though it wasn't bedtime time for most of us, but I have no idea why we were so tired! Nonetheless, we had a great time in Tainan and I can't wait for the 2nd day of race!

An accidental selfie! With our dedicated coach, Dunia (the lady in purple)!

the 担仔面 Miyuki is so crazy about! Her favourite food in Tainan, I guess.

Ohh! Did I mentioned that the big boats have neon LED lights! They are so beautiful! 

Day 106 -- I should be sleeping

Yes, I should be sleeping right now because the competition is tomorrow! But I napped a bit too much in the evening and here I am, WIDE AWAKE. But wells, it's only 1 am right now, and the reporting time is at 12pm later on, so I still have some time to play around with.

So now, I shall be a good girl and complete all my undone assignments and hopefully I can get them done by tonight! Ciaos~

Day 105 -- Last training!

It was the last training in the pool before our races commence this weekend! I'm so glad that most of us made it for the last training and it felt really great to train with the team!

Since it was the last training, I felt it was only right to give it my all (what a thinking, I know... ) and so the aftermath was quite painful. I was so exhausted and all I wanted to do was to sleep, but I couldn't because I still had assignments to complete. Yup, so imagine completing them with an aching body. Bad decision, but oh wells...

Day 104 -- Meetup!

Met Bryan, DK Neo and their friends in KS during their TW grad trip! Brought them to CiJin, Pier 2 and RuiFeng Night market just to show them some of the more iconic places here in KS. Too bad they are only here for 1 night (although I don't think KS is that interesting to stay for more than 2 days).

They wanted to see the sunset here, so we went to the Cijin Fortress and Light house and we're so fortunate to catch it! And we're blessed with great weather, so we did managed to see really beautiful sunset! I hoped they did capture the pictures they wanted too!

Upon the recommendation of their hostel owner, we went to Pier 2. They were obviously amused by some of the art pieces, while the others, baffled. LOL!

Being Singaporeans, we all LOVE to eat! Although they went to the Garden Night Market in Tainan before, the night market trip was still the highlight of the night. And what we did was just eat, eat and eat! And they are so kind to give me treats! HAHAHA! #Perksofbeingaguide

They are such funny people to hang out with! While out with them, they told me about their trips up to date and some of the random stuff they did, eg. playing (or rather I should say their recent addiction to) bridge at every opportunity they got, which includes the time they spent waiting for public transport!

Hope they will enjoy the remaining days of their trip and may the odds be always in their favour to grant them a smooth graduation!

Let us first take a selfie!

Loving the sunset here!

So glad I came back again before the sun set! 

Day 103 -- An insightful day!

My Taiwanese course mate, Juna, brought me to a product sharing session after lessons today. It was really thoughtful of her to introduce me to something so familiar yet so foreign. But anyway, I really learnt a lot from today's session.

After which, we went for supper near school and she introduced me to this 银丝卷 which I'd never tried before because I didn't know what it was. And to my amazement, it's actually fried bun with condensed milk! I seriously miss having it! Yup, so it was a great night spent interacting with her, and getting to know about how each of our country worked and all.

I'm glad I'm still making new friends along the way though the exchange is ending really soon.