6 New Taiwanese Indie Bands You Need to Listen to
by Benny Hsieh
As indie music about social issues attracted a younger generation’s attention, in the past decade, mass media have become aware of this long-neglected aspect of Taiwanese music industry. Later in 2017, with indie band No Party of CaoDong winning over three grand awards in The 28th Golden Melody Awards and beating several notable pop artists in the show, the public eventually realized how much Taiwanese indie acts have prospered. Meanwhile, through its refreshing sounds and relatable lyricism, indie music successfully drew a dedicated following and became comparatively mainstream than before.
In this article, we’ll be looking at seven Taiwanese indie bands which was formed and gained popularity in the past decade, as known as a renaissance of Taiwanese indie music. With a detailed breakdown of their style and notable works, maybe you’ll find out your new favorite band in this list!
Indie that Defines Our Generation
Influenced by social affairs, such as The Sunflower Movement and The Hong Chung-Chiu Incident, the 2010s marks an era where Taiwanese millennials realized the importance of voicing themselves about various topics, and to many indie acts, music became a way to express anger towards society and to help arouse public awareness. Thanks to newly-gained attention from media, these indie acts soon received explosive popularity and had since increasingly attracted new listeners to the world of indie.
No Party for CaoDong (草東沒有派對)
Known as the band that popularizes indie in recent years, No Party for CaoDong immediately gained a cult following since their debut in 2015. Similar to 90s Britpop and shoegaze, their works feature heart-wrenching guitar riffs and layers of distorted instrumental sounds, and lyrically, the band’s discography can be considered a collection of gloomy odes to modern society. Their debut album, The Serville, mainly criticizes unfairness, injustice, and failures in reality, and miraculously, despite lack of proper press promotion, this album was sold out in less than three days on its first limited release. According to music critic Shi-Fang Ma, the biggest signature of the band is their combination of brutally honest lyricism and catchy melodies, which makes their music representative for this “generation of losers,” and considering their sharp criticism towards society, it is no doubt that they would be considered a contemporary musical icon and spokesmen for younger generation.
Constant & Change (康士坦的變化球)
“The only thing that remains constant is change,” says Constant & Change’s self-introduction on their fanpage. This absorbing quote not only defines their intriguing band name but also perfectly captures the overall philosophy of their songwriting: to record all irresistible changes of our lives in a tender and accepting tone. As a post-rock band, most Constant & Change songs lack vocals; instead, they attempt to provoke listeners’ emotions through intense rhythms and complicated chords. Nevertheless, their only song with vocal features as well as the titular track of their first studio album, “Stranded People”, turns out to be their most popular one. This song discusses younger generation’s numbness towards failures and pain, and the screaming vocals of the track make the message even more haunting. On the other hand, if interested in their signature post-rock sound, the eight-minute masterpiece, “Now That You Have Passed Away, I Remember My Promise To Walk With You,“ is definitely a go-to track that will break your heart into shatters.
Your Woman Sleeps with Others (老王樂隊)
Have you been driven to extreme sadness? Then why not give Your Woman Sleeps with Others a try! Just like the essence of their shocking yet hilarious title, this folk rock band attempts to examine upsetting social phenomena with a dark-humored undertone. The group crafts their sounds with strong beats and repetitive yet addictive rhythms. Also, once labelled themselves as a “post-folk band,” the band tries to refresh traditional folk rock by introducing cello into the music, creating a mature and somewhat comical effect in the background. Their debut extend play, Stolen Childhood, is an amusing satire to a topic that every millennial could relate to -- education. Out of all three tracks of the record, “Cram Schools Killed the Children,” might be the most sarcastic one as it analogizes the scene of a cram school to a funeral chapel, implying that a rigid education only leads to collapse of a generation. Another track, “Teens Edge,” which describes younger generations’ negativity towards future in a humorous upbeat melody, is an emotional roller coaster that will leave you cry and laugh at the same time.
Sweet as Indie
Despite the rise of angry, depressing indie music, several new indie bands choose to stick with the softer, sweeter, and quirkier sound of traditional Taiwanese indie pop, offering the depressed public a temporary musical exit to reexamine every little yet wonderful detail of our universe. Through sentimental melodies and beautifully-written lyrics, these bands manage to provide somewhat refreshing and romantic views regarding lifestyles, relationships, and internal struggles, and they have therefore touched thousands of lonely spirits with sincere emotions of their music.
AccuseFive (告五人)
Thanks to a hit single about cantaloupes, AccuseFive became an overnight sensation since their first extend play, Let Go, got released back in 2017. With the mystic, dreamy aesthetic of their music, sound-wise, this Yi-Lang based indie band can be considered a spiritual offspring of 1970s neo-psychedelic bands with some genes of classical jazz and funk music. Aside from the earlier mentioned “Do You Want Some Cantaloupe?,” an upbeat rock anthem poking fun at pretentious snobs, another instant hit from the band is the groundbreaking “Miss You Day and Night.” This heartwarming ballad gained a massive popularity and attention even before the official audio was released, and the demo version ended up attracting over than seven million views on YouTube, making the band even more of a household name than ever.
Sweet John (甜約翰)
If you have always been obsessed with Belle and Sebastian-esque softness and sweetness of traditional twee pop, Sweet John might be your new favorite band to be added to your Spotify playlist. Despite their sugary, light sound, most of their works deal with loss and gain in interpersonal relationships and daily lives. According to band members of Sweet John, Their debut album Dear was created as a concept album that follows a girl’s struggles over a breakup. As the opening track "Missing You" mourns over those who fade away from our lives, the ending track “Rain onto the One” talks about regain of an innocent belief in love, making the album a complete journey about acceptance, self-awareness, and internal growth. Are you also grieving over the end of an relationship? Try listening to Dear with a cup of hot cocoa in your hand, maybe you’ll regain some energy from this sincere and powerful album.
Indie New World
In the past decade, some indie bands have started to seek inspirations from different genres of music and to experiment Taiwanese indie music. Some of them therefore gained unexpected popularity and had since been considered new pioneers of Taiwanese indie scene who successfully redefine the boundaries of indie music.
Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車)
To everyone’s surprise, city pop, a long-forgotten music genre that once dominated Japanese pop music back in the 1980s, has become one of the biggest trends of Taiwanese indie music in recent years…...thanks to a band named Sunset Rollercoaster. Just like signature city pop, Sunset Rollercoaster crafts a groundbreaking sound that combines adult contemporary pop, jazz fusion, R&B, and rock music. Also, with the use of saxophone in the background, this band manages to create a more relaxing and sexier atmosphere for every piece of music, allowing every listener to re-experience the nostalgia and romance of classic eighties. If interested in the band’s discography, the soothing, romantic Jinji Kinko is the go-to record that showcases Sunset Rollercoaster’s excellent execution of city pop sounds.
Eggplant Egg (茄子蛋)
It is never an over-exaggeration to assume Eggplant Egg has started a new chapter in history of Tai-Pop (pop music sang and written in traditional Taiwanese dialect). With influence of alternative rock and predecessors like Lim Giong and Wu Bai, this indie band successfully modernizes ballad-oriented Tai-Pop and introduces the beauty of this long-ignored language to a younger generation. In the 29th Golden Melody Awards, Eggplant Egg won both Best New Artist and Best Hokkien Album for the first ever nomination with their well-received album, Cartoon Character. This record can be considered a Tai-Pop masterpiece dedicated to Generation Y as it deals with daily issues and relationship problems of modern society, and some post-2000s pop cultural references hidden in the lyrics can definitely make every millenial feel nostalgic and relatable.
In this article, we’ll be looking at seven Taiwanese indie bands which was formed and gained popularity in the past decade, as known as a renaissance of Taiwanese indie music. With a detailed breakdown of their style and notable works, maybe you’ll find out your new favorite band in this list!
Indie that Defines Our Generation
Influenced by social affairs, such as The Sunflower Movement and The Hong Chung-Chiu Incident, the 2010s marks an era where Taiwanese millennials realized the importance of voicing themselves about various topics, and to many indie acts, music became a way to express anger towards society and to help arouse public awareness. Thanks to newly-gained attention from media, these indie acts soon received explosive popularity and had since increasingly attracted new listeners to the world of indie.
No Party for CaoDong (草東沒有派對)
Known as the band that popularizes indie in recent years, No Party for CaoDong immediately gained a cult following since their debut in 2015. Similar to 90s Britpop and shoegaze, their works feature heart-wrenching guitar riffs and layers of distorted instrumental sounds, and lyrically, the band’s discography can be considered a collection of gloomy odes to modern society. Their debut album, The Serville, mainly criticizes unfairness, injustice, and failures in reality, and miraculously, despite lack of proper press promotion, this album was sold out in less than three days on its first limited release. According to music critic Shi-Fang Ma, the biggest signature of the band is their combination of brutally honest lyricism and catchy melodies, which makes their music representative for this “generation of losers,” and considering their sharp criticism towards society, it is no doubt that they would be considered a contemporary musical icon and spokesmen for younger generation.
Constant & Change (康士坦的變化球)
“The only thing that remains constant is change,” says Constant & Change’s self-introduction on their fanpage. This absorbing quote not only defines their intriguing band name but also perfectly captures the overall philosophy of their songwriting: to record all irresistible changes of our lives in a tender and accepting tone. As a post-rock band, most Constant & Change songs lack vocals; instead, they attempt to provoke listeners’ emotions through intense rhythms and complicated chords. Nevertheless, their only song with vocal features as well as the titular track of their first studio album, “Stranded People”, turns out to be their most popular one. This song discusses younger generation’s numbness towards failures and pain, and the screaming vocals of the track make the message even more haunting. On the other hand, if interested in their signature post-rock sound, the eight-minute masterpiece, “Now That You Have Passed Away, I Remember My Promise To Walk With You,“ is definitely a go-to track that will break your heart into shatters.
Your Woman Sleeps with Others (老王樂隊)
Have you been driven to extreme sadness? Then why not give Your Woman Sleeps with Others a try! Just like the essence of their shocking yet hilarious title, this folk rock band attempts to examine upsetting social phenomena with a dark-humored undertone. The group crafts their sounds with strong beats and repetitive yet addictive rhythms. Also, once labelled themselves as a “post-folk band,” the band tries to refresh traditional folk rock by introducing cello into the music, creating a mature and somewhat comical effect in the background. Their debut extend play, Stolen Childhood, is an amusing satire to a topic that every millennial could relate to -- education. Out of all three tracks of the record, “Cram Schools Killed the Children,” might be the most sarcastic one as it analogizes the scene of a cram school to a funeral chapel, implying that a rigid education only leads to collapse of a generation. Another track, “Teens Edge,” which describes younger generations’ negativity towards future in a humorous upbeat melody, is an emotional roller coaster that will leave you cry and laugh at the same time.
Sweet as Indie
Despite the rise of angry, depressing indie music, several new indie bands choose to stick with the softer, sweeter, and quirkier sound of traditional Taiwanese indie pop, offering the depressed public a temporary musical exit to reexamine every little yet wonderful detail of our universe. Through sentimental melodies and beautifully-written lyrics, these bands manage to provide somewhat refreshing and romantic views regarding lifestyles, relationships, and internal struggles, and they have therefore touched thousands of lonely spirits with sincere emotions of their music.
AccuseFive (告五人)
Thanks to a hit single about cantaloupes, AccuseFive became an overnight sensation since their first extend play, Let Go, got released back in 2017. With the mystic, dreamy aesthetic of their music, sound-wise, this Yi-Lang based indie band can be considered a spiritual offspring of 1970s neo-psychedelic bands with some genes of classical jazz and funk music. Aside from the earlier mentioned “Do You Want Some Cantaloupe?,” an upbeat rock anthem poking fun at pretentious snobs, another instant hit from the band is the groundbreaking “Miss You Day and Night.” This heartwarming ballad gained a massive popularity and attention even before the official audio was released, and the demo version ended up attracting over than seven million views on YouTube, making the band even more of a household name than ever.
Sweet John (甜約翰)
If you have always been obsessed with Belle and Sebastian-esque softness and sweetness of traditional twee pop, Sweet John might be your new favorite band to be added to your Spotify playlist. Despite their sugary, light sound, most of their works deal with loss and gain in interpersonal relationships and daily lives. According to band members of Sweet John, Their debut album Dear was created as a concept album that follows a girl’s struggles over a breakup. As the opening track "Missing You" mourns over those who fade away from our lives, the ending track “Rain onto the One” talks about regain of an innocent belief in love, making the album a complete journey about acceptance, self-awareness, and internal growth. Are you also grieving over the end of an relationship? Try listening to Dear with a cup of hot cocoa in your hand, maybe you’ll regain some energy from this sincere and powerful album.
Indie New World
In the past decade, some indie bands have started to seek inspirations from different genres of music and to experiment Taiwanese indie music. Some of them therefore gained unexpected popularity and had since been considered new pioneers of Taiwanese indie scene who successfully redefine the boundaries of indie music.
Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車)
To everyone’s surprise, city pop, a long-forgotten music genre that once dominated Japanese pop music back in the 1980s, has become one of the biggest trends of Taiwanese indie music in recent years…...thanks to a band named Sunset Rollercoaster. Just like signature city pop, Sunset Rollercoaster crafts a groundbreaking sound that combines adult contemporary pop, jazz fusion, R&B, and rock music. Also, with the use of saxophone in the background, this band manages to create a more relaxing and sexier atmosphere for every piece of music, allowing every listener to re-experience the nostalgia and romance of classic eighties. If interested in the band’s discography, the soothing, romantic Jinji Kinko is the go-to record that showcases Sunset Rollercoaster’s excellent execution of city pop sounds.
Eggplant Egg (茄子蛋)
It is never an over-exaggeration to assume Eggplant Egg has started a new chapter in history of Tai-Pop (pop music sang and written in traditional Taiwanese dialect). With influence of alternative rock and predecessors like Lim Giong and Wu Bai, this indie band successfully modernizes ballad-oriented Tai-Pop and introduces the beauty of this long-ignored language to a younger generation. In the 29th Golden Melody Awards, Eggplant Egg won both Best New Artist and Best Hokkien Album for the first ever nomination with their well-received album, Cartoon Character. This record can be considered a Tai-Pop masterpiece dedicated to Generation Y as it deals with daily issues and relationship problems of modern society, and some post-2000s pop cultural references hidden in the lyrics can definitely make every millenial feel nostalgic and relatable.
#Coffee and #Work: A Guide for FJU Students
Is your roommate a pain in the neck? Or, is it always hard for you to avoid distractions when working from home? For some students, it is a struggle to find a place to get their work done. That’s where coffee shop comes in. Every day I walked by coffee shops, I see people working with laptops on their table or with books in their hands. That’s the moment I realized that studying or working in a coffee shop has become a lifestyle. Many people even feel that they are more productive and creative while working from a cafe, and they are right! A scientific research conducted by University of Illinois found that the background noise of a bustling coffee shop can stimulate workers’ creativity and productivity. Research shows that the semi-distracting sound at around 70 decibels helps worker to think more broadly and thus come up with more creative ideas.
So, with science showing that coffee shop is actually a perfect studying spot, this article will be introducing 5 coffee shops that are close from MRT Zhonghe–Xinlu line. Each coffee shop is rated based on 5 design considerations including cleanliness, appealing aroma, lighting, comfortable furniture, and a view to the outside.
Best for being super cozy as working from bed - Old Major Coffee (Zhongshan Elementary School St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:3
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:5
*A view to outside:4
*Average charge: 150-250
*Charging ports:some
As an independent coffee shop, Old Major Coffee is the miniest yet the cutest café I have seen so far. Despite the limited space, Old Major Coffee is like a little oasis with all you need for those individual workers. With mural painting on the wall and tons of books on the shelves, the store flows with a cozy and artistic feelings in the air. There is also a lounge chair area with electrical plugs on the side, isn’t it the best spot for work?
Besides perfect environment for studying, Old Major Coffee serves high-quality drinks and desserts. As for the ingredients, the owner chooses fair trade coffee beans and milk from local farms in order to support local agricultural business. That is, Old Major Coffee serves not only toothsome pastry and beverage but also wonderful experience for customers.
Best for selective foodie - Piccolo Angolo (Songjiang Nanjing St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:5
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:4
*A view to outside:5
*Average charge: 100-200
*Charging ports:some
If you happen to be a coffee snob who cannot find the perfect spot to work and enjoy coffee at the same time, Piccolo Angolo is definitely the best choice for you. Unlike other coffee shops where people brew coffee from coffee machines, here at Piccolo Angelo, they serve a great diversity of estate-grown coffee, drip coffee, and hand-pour coffee. If you were a beginner in the area of coffee, don’t worry. Piccolo Angolo’s menu introduces each type of coffee based on their taste, texture, and flavor detailedly. Staff here at Piccolo Angelo are also really friendly to recommend drinks for customers based on their preferences.
Piccolo Angolo is also a good place for study. The big French window on the side allows natural light and air to flow in. Moreover, it creates a sense of neatness and elegance in Piccolo Angolo. Decorated with white and wooden furniture, each seat here has electrical sockets on its own. Apart from coffee, Piccolo Angelo serves a comprehensive menu from coffee to dessert and light meals as well. After a long day of work, reward yourself with delicious treats and coffee at Piccolo Angelo!
Best for hipsters who have special tastes - Youmoutoohana Coffee (Dongmen St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:4
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:5
*A view to outside:4
*Average charge: 150-200
*Charging ports:Every seats
Located near the popular area, Dongmen, Youmoutoohana Coffee is a must visit place for those who seek quietness and uniqueness. Youmoutoohana Coffee is named after the famous Japanese band Youmoutoohana. The Coffee shop owner wishes to bring the warmness and kindness just as what the lyrics from the band’s songs say to the customers. As soon as you get into the store, you can feel the raw but cozy atmosphere due to a unique mixture of concrete, wood, and vintage ornaments in the store. Sitting in the shop, with background music from Youmoutoohana band and the ambient sounds from the coffee machine, you can merely hear people talking; every customer in the store is concentrating on their laptops or books.
Besides coffee and tea, Youmontoohana also offers amazing desserts and yummy sandwiches ready to fill your tummy. More surprisingly, Youmoutoohana serves various types of alcoholic drinks for night owls after a long day of work.
Best for large group meetings - Cafe Raco (Xingtian Temple St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:5
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:5
*A view to outside:5
*Average charge: 90-150
*Charging ports:Every seats
Taipei is famous for its well-known affair with coffee, and we can see coffee shops almost everywhere, but only a few can satisfy the needs for single workers and groups at the same time. Café Raco is the best coffee shop I have visited so far. With various sitting options, natural lighting, superb Wi-fi, and stylish decoration, café Raco creates a perfect space for individuals as well as groups.
Café Raco is on the ground floor of an apartment in Zhongshan district. It has spacious spaces designed to fit different needs. My personal favorite corner is the half-circled area for individual workers. Every seat here faces either walls or windows. So, when you are digging in tasks that require a deep focus and inspirations, just grab a window-facing seat! As for those who visit as a group, Café Raco also offers space for group discussion that can accommodate up to 6 to 8 people.
Café Raco offers coffee, tea, as well as main meals. Not matter it is for work, date, or just some Netflix and Chill, Café Raco can definitely suits your needs the best.
Best for artistic minds to generate new ideas – GinGin Coffee Company
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:5
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:4
*A view to outside:5
*Average charge: 50-150
*Charging ports:Every seats
From a small takeout café bar to an independent coffee shop with stunning interior design, GinGin Coffee Company is my top recommendation for those who want to get inspirations and new ideas while working in this environment. Decorated with eye-catching colors, yellow and blue, and an iconic giraffe logo, this friendly environment serves not only the artistic atmosphere but also good quality coffee at reasonable price. The space at GinGin is so large that it can accommodate almost 50 customers. Don’t need to worry if you wish to bring your laptop to work, their space is well-designed for laptop users with power sockets at every seat.
With an open kitchen staged in the middle of this coffee shop, the aroma of coffee flows in the air. The inspiring energy at GinGin Coffee Company is contagious. This café is also famous for its exclusive blend coffee which brings coffee to a different level. Plus, GinGin is also well-known for their various types of sandwiches with flavors like omelette, egg salad, and jam. Food and drinks are the last thing you will have to worry about in GinGin.
So, with science showing that coffee shop is actually a perfect studying spot, this article will be introducing 5 coffee shops that are close from MRT Zhonghe–Xinlu line. Each coffee shop is rated based on 5 design considerations including cleanliness, appealing aroma, lighting, comfortable furniture, and a view to the outside.
Best for being super cozy as working from bed - Old Major Coffee (Zhongshan Elementary School St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:3
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:5
*A view to outside:4
*Average charge: 150-250
*Charging ports:some
As an independent coffee shop, Old Major Coffee is the miniest yet the cutest café I have seen so far. Despite the limited space, Old Major Coffee is like a little oasis with all you need for those individual workers. With mural painting on the wall and tons of books on the shelves, the store flows with a cozy and artistic feelings in the air. There is also a lounge chair area with electrical plugs on the side, isn’t it the best spot for work?
Besides perfect environment for studying, Old Major Coffee serves high-quality drinks and desserts. As for the ingredients, the owner chooses fair trade coffee beans and milk from local farms in order to support local agricultural business. That is, Old Major Coffee serves not only toothsome pastry and beverage but also wonderful experience for customers.
Best for selective foodie - Piccolo Angolo (Songjiang Nanjing St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:5
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:4
*A view to outside:5
*Average charge: 100-200
*Charging ports:some
If you happen to be a coffee snob who cannot find the perfect spot to work and enjoy coffee at the same time, Piccolo Angolo is definitely the best choice for you. Unlike other coffee shops where people brew coffee from coffee machines, here at Piccolo Angelo, they serve a great diversity of estate-grown coffee, drip coffee, and hand-pour coffee. If you were a beginner in the area of coffee, don’t worry. Piccolo Angolo’s menu introduces each type of coffee based on their taste, texture, and flavor detailedly. Staff here at Piccolo Angelo are also really friendly to recommend drinks for customers based on their preferences.
Piccolo Angolo is also a good place for study. The big French window on the side allows natural light and air to flow in. Moreover, it creates a sense of neatness and elegance in Piccolo Angolo. Decorated with white and wooden furniture, each seat here has electrical sockets on its own. Apart from coffee, Piccolo Angelo serves a comprehensive menu from coffee to dessert and light meals as well. After a long day of work, reward yourself with delicious treats and coffee at Piccolo Angelo!
Best for hipsters who have special tastes - Youmoutoohana Coffee (Dongmen St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:4
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:5
*A view to outside:4
*Average charge: 150-200
*Charging ports:Every seats
Located near the popular area, Dongmen, Youmoutoohana Coffee is a must visit place for those who seek quietness and uniqueness. Youmoutoohana Coffee is named after the famous Japanese band Youmoutoohana. The Coffee shop owner wishes to bring the warmness and kindness just as what the lyrics from the band’s songs say to the customers. As soon as you get into the store, you can feel the raw but cozy atmosphere due to a unique mixture of concrete, wood, and vintage ornaments in the store. Sitting in the shop, with background music from Youmoutoohana band and the ambient sounds from the coffee machine, you can merely hear people talking; every customer in the store is concentrating on their laptops or books.
Besides coffee and tea, Youmontoohana also offers amazing desserts and yummy sandwiches ready to fill your tummy. More surprisingly, Youmoutoohana serves various types of alcoholic drinks for night owls after a long day of work.
Best for large group meetings - Cafe Raco (Xingtian Temple St.)
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:5
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:5
*A view to outside:5
*Average charge: 90-150
*Charging ports:Every seats
Taipei is famous for its well-known affair with coffee, and we can see coffee shops almost everywhere, but only a few can satisfy the needs for single workers and groups at the same time. Café Raco is the best coffee shop I have visited so far. With various sitting options, natural lighting, superb Wi-fi, and stylish decoration, café Raco creates a perfect space for individuals as well as groups.
Café Raco is on the ground floor of an apartment in Zhongshan district. It has spacious spaces designed to fit different needs. My personal favorite corner is the half-circled area for individual workers. Every seat here faces either walls or windows. So, when you are digging in tasks that require a deep focus and inspirations, just grab a window-facing seat! As for those who visit as a group, Café Raco also offers space for group discussion that can accommodate up to 6 to 8 people.
Café Raco offers coffee, tea, as well as main meals. Not matter it is for work, date, or just some Netflix and Chill, Café Raco can definitely suits your needs the best.
Best for artistic minds to generate new ideas – GinGin Coffee Company
*Cleanliness: 5
*Adequate lighting:5
*Aroma:5
*Comfortable furniture:4
*A view to outside:5
*Average charge: 50-150
*Charging ports:Every seats
From a small takeout café bar to an independent coffee shop with stunning interior design, GinGin Coffee Company is my top recommendation for those who want to get inspirations and new ideas while working in this environment. Decorated with eye-catching colors, yellow and blue, and an iconic giraffe logo, this friendly environment serves not only the artistic atmosphere but also good quality coffee at reasonable price. The space at GinGin is so large that it can accommodate almost 50 customers. Don’t need to worry if you wish to bring your laptop to work, their space is well-designed for laptop users with power sockets at every seat.
With an open kitchen staged in the middle of this coffee shop, the aroma of coffee flows in the air. The inspiring energy at GinGin Coffee Company is contagious. This café is also famous for its exclusive blend coffee which brings coffee to a different level. Plus, GinGin is also well-known for their various types of sandwiches with flavors like omelette, egg salad, and jam. Food and drinks are the last thing you will have to worry about in GinGin.
Three Lessons for Healing a Broken Heart— What I’ve Learned from Movies
Love is beautiful, fascinating, yet scary as well. For young adults, a romantic relationship plays a crucial role in their social lives. The fact that whether you have pleasant experiences influences many aspects of one’s personal development, such as confidence, self-affirmation, and so on. Failing in love with a wrong person is common, but the difficult part is how to recover from the scars, painful memories, and uncertainty caused by a previous relationship. One of my friends recently confided to me that she had been struggling with the negative emotions resulting from breaking up with her boyfriend. What I could do was to give her a slip of paper with three sentences, and patted her on the shoulder. “Read this, and you will be fine,” I told her. I was so sure that I can totally understand her feelings, desperation, and loneliness because I had undergone a failed relationship about a month ago. I tried several methods to pick myself up, but eventually I found the best ways to heal is hidden in the quotes of three movies I watched. Therefore, I desire to share these powerful lessons to those who are trapped in their own grieves and to cheer them up.
The first lesson is that you have to realize that he/she is not the right one. “Some people are meant to be fall in love with each other, but not meant to be together.” –500Days of Summer. Summer is a girl who doesn’t believe in true love owing to the failed marriage of her parents. Therefore, Summer did not want to have a serious relationship with Tom, the male protagonist of the movie, even they kissed, held hands in Ikea, and had sex. After their relationship ends, Summer finds a right guy and starts to believe in true love. Summer is so sure that her husband is the one she is looking for, something she can’t feel when she is with Tom. You might think that you had a good relationship with your ex, just like Tom and Summer do, so you are convinced that there is no one better than him/her. You can’t give up, and you strive to maintain the relationship despite the fact that you are not suitable for each other. Wake up, he/she is not your Mr. or Ms. Right! If you have different lifestyles, concepts about future and love, or incompatible personalities, these factors have already led to several fights. You should not waste your time.
The second lesson is –-- let them go, say goodbye calmly. “People come in and out of your life. For a time they are your world; they are everything. And then one day they're not.” - Lara Jean, the main character of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Before falling in love with Peter, Lara Jean has never imagined that love could be so sweet. Originally, Lara Jean had a crush on Josh, her sister’s ex-boyfriend. She even did a crazy thing—pretending to be Peter’s girlfriend because she doesn’t want to reveal her affections for Josh. During this “fake relationship,” love gradually grows up between Jean and Peter. Jean is no longer obsessed with Josh anymore! Never see someone as your whole world and overlook what you should really care! You should always love yourself more than anyone else. When I broke my heart in Junior high school, I was so desperate. I cried, I complained, but I still waited for him. I did not want to give up our relationship since I thought he was the best man in the world. Eventually I got over the sorrow, and I realized that he was just a passerby in my life. Trust me, you can still shine without him/her!
The last lesson is to feel is to heal. “To feel nothing so as not to feel anything, What a waste.” This is from Elio’s father, the main character of Call Me by Your Name. At that time, Elio was upset about the separation between him and Oliver. Elio’s father discovered it and encouraged him to embrace his true feelings. When breaking with your partner, it’s common that you are overwhelmed by negative emotions. Some of my friends tried to hide them or to escape from them, making themselves suffer less. However, this behavior actually deprives our ability to offer each time when we start over with someone new because we tear so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should. Just like what I mentioned, to feel is the best way to recover from the sadness. You should acknowledge the functions of your pain, since it is a necessary step on your journey toward healing. Face these emotions and don’t criticize yourself.
Breaking up a relationship or the separation is a painful but inevitable process in everyone’s life. For young adults, it’s more difficult to stand up from the adversity. Therefore, I am eager to share the precious lessons from these characters who are in similar ages and life stories.
The first lesson is that you have to realize that he/she is not the right one. “Some people are meant to be fall in love with each other, but not meant to be together.” –500Days of Summer. Summer is a girl who doesn’t believe in true love owing to the failed marriage of her parents. Therefore, Summer did not want to have a serious relationship with Tom, the male protagonist of the movie, even they kissed, held hands in Ikea, and had sex. After their relationship ends, Summer finds a right guy and starts to believe in true love. Summer is so sure that her husband is the one she is looking for, something she can’t feel when she is with Tom. You might think that you had a good relationship with your ex, just like Tom and Summer do, so you are convinced that there is no one better than him/her. You can’t give up, and you strive to maintain the relationship despite the fact that you are not suitable for each other. Wake up, he/she is not your Mr. or Ms. Right! If you have different lifestyles, concepts about future and love, or incompatible personalities, these factors have already led to several fights. You should not waste your time.
The second lesson is –-- let them go, say goodbye calmly. “People come in and out of your life. For a time they are your world; they are everything. And then one day they're not.” - Lara Jean, the main character of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Before falling in love with Peter, Lara Jean has never imagined that love could be so sweet. Originally, Lara Jean had a crush on Josh, her sister’s ex-boyfriend. She even did a crazy thing—pretending to be Peter’s girlfriend because she doesn’t want to reveal her affections for Josh. During this “fake relationship,” love gradually grows up between Jean and Peter. Jean is no longer obsessed with Josh anymore! Never see someone as your whole world and overlook what you should really care! You should always love yourself more than anyone else. When I broke my heart in Junior high school, I was so desperate. I cried, I complained, but I still waited for him. I did not want to give up our relationship since I thought he was the best man in the world. Eventually I got over the sorrow, and I realized that he was just a passerby in my life. Trust me, you can still shine without him/her!
The last lesson is to feel is to heal. “To feel nothing so as not to feel anything, What a waste.” This is from Elio’s father, the main character of Call Me by Your Name. At that time, Elio was upset about the separation between him and Oliver. Elio’s father discovered it and encouraged him to embrace his true feelings. When breaking with your partner, it’s common that you are overwhelmed by negative emotions. Some of my friends tried to hide them or to escape from them, making themselves suffer less. However, this behavior actually deprives our ability to offer each time when we start over with someone new because we tear so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should. Just like what I mentioned, to feel is the best way to recover from the sadness. You should acknowledge the functions of your pain, since it is a necessary step on your journey toward healing. Face these emotions and don’t criticize yourself.
Breaking up a relationship or the separation is a painful but inevitable process in everyone’s life. For young adults, it’s more difficult to stand up from the adversity. Therefore, I am eager to share the precious lessons from these characters who are in similar ages and life stories.
Taiwan European Film Festival 2018
Have you ever heard of Taiwan European Film Festival or have you ever noticed the posters posted around the campus? The 14th European Film Festival (TEFF) was held from November 2018 to January 2019 in 42 venues around Taiwan, playing 17 films from 17 European countries. All the events were completely free for the general public to visit and appreciate. As a student in Fu Jen University, we were lucky since one of the venues was our campus, and 16 films were played respectively in one of the following three locations: LF118, FG1F, and SF901. As a person who enjoys various genres of film, the writer went to several sessions and would love to share a four of them, Think of Me, Bloody Milk, Underdog, Afterimage, to introduce the activity and to bring people who share the same passion to films together.
Think of Me (Gondolj rám, 2016) is a Hungarian comedy directed by András Kern. The protagonist is Dr. Miki, who is a senior surgeon who got diagnosed by his own colleague that he does not have a long time to live due to a cancer. After knowing this shocking news, Dr. Miki decided to misbehave to everyone around him so that no one would feel painful or sorrow over his death when the day comes. Of course, his deeds deeply hurt his families and friends in his band. After ruining the relationships he has with most of people he knows, he decides to leave and face death alone. However, when he finds out that his cancer gets cured naturally, he has to restart his own life. This comedy is full of seemingly absurd plot twists and characteristics of the characters, but the changes in people when they face major incidents are vividly reflected in this film. There are not only funny moments but also touching ones that make the audience rethink their life decisions and empathise the inner struggle of the characters. To the writer, the whole film is trying to convey a rebellious attitude towards life and death. The spirit might be best illustrated by a comedian’s line in the film, “Drive carefully, better on the pavement, ‘cus there’re accidents on the road!”
Bloody Milk (Petit Paysan, 2017) is a French drama film directed by Hubert Charuel. It was also presented in 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The film is telling a story of a young farmer, Pierre, who has a herd of cows, and the milk produced by the cows sustains his family’s living. Pierre lives with his parents and his sister, and the family lives in the neighbourhood in which many people live the similar way. However, one day Pierre found out that an epidemic has made its way into the herd, so he started to try everything to save his cows. The film focuses on the struggles in different characters with close-ups and unstable shoots. Also the repetition of some images, such as the alarm clock and the same man speaking on his YouTube videos, piles up the tension and the sense of emergency as the plot develops. The film ends when Pierre is at the changing point of his life, but it does not give the audience any specific clue on how his life will develop later. It leaves the audience with a space to think about all the persistence the protagonist has and the how changeable life can be beyond our imagination.
Underdog (Svenskjävel, 2014) is a Swedish film directed by Ronnie Sandahl. The protagonist in the film is a 23-year-old Swedish girl, Dino, who moved to Oslo, seeking better opportunities and life. After breaking her arm, she has to settle for a babysitting job in a middle class family. In this family, Dino gradually builds connections with the family members, especially a sisters-like one with the older daughter Ida and an intimate one with the father of the two children, Steffen. Regardless the bound between the Dino and Steffen, it is impossible to for the two to break the family for themselves. In the end of the story, Dino received a life-changing gift from Ida. This film also uses many close-ups to capture the subtle changes in the facial expression to convey the emotion and thoughts of the characters. The difference in the close-ups is that they usually only capture one side of the faces instead of shooting from the front in which way the audience would see the whole faces. Personally the writer found this feature in the film successfully portrait the characters, and the contrast between light and darkness brings out the inner conflicts and pain. The film also uses tones and images skilfully. The scene in which the husband and wife stay by each other in silence is constructed in different shades of blue, dragging the audience into the wordless conversation between the couple. The tunnel Dino rides through on her way to the university can be regarded as the transformation of Dino’s life. “Underdog” is a film telling a growth story that people in our age can relate to.
Afterimage (Powidoki, 2016) is a Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. Under the background of the end of WWII, the influential professor in a school of arts, Strzemiński, is regarded as a target to “educate” by the government for the purpose of rebuilding the Polish nationalism. His students get suppressed in their creative careers, and he is deprived of his teaching position due to his rejection to serving the nation and the leader solely in nationalism and realism with his works. Losing the financial support, the family falls in difficulties, and the health condition of Strzemiński himself gets worse day by day. The audience witnesses how the nationalist totalitarian authority knocks the artist down by taking away all he has as a human and an advanced thinker. There are not many artistic filmic skills used in the film, but with the realistically presented scenes and the graceful pace, the film is able to hit the audience with the heaviness of the story.
These four films the writer is sharing with you are just a few presented in TEFF 2018, but hopefully after reading this article, you will be interested to participate in the next year’s Taiwan European Film Festival!
Think of Me (Gondolj rám, 2016) is a Hungarian comedy directed by András Kern. The protagonist is Dr. Miki, who is a senior surgeon who got diagnosed by his own colleague that he does not have a long time to live due to a cancer. After knowing this shocking news, Dr. Miki decided to misbehave to everyone around him so that no one would feel painful or sorrow over his death when the day comes. Of course, his deeds deeply hurt his families and friends in his band. After ruining the relationships he has with most of people he knows, he decides to leave and face death alone. However, when he finds out that his cancer gets cured naturally, he has to restart his own life. This comedy is full of seemingly absurd plot twists and characteristics of the characters, but the changes in people when they face major incidents are vividly reflected in this film. There are not only funny moments but also touching ones that make the audience rethink their life decisions and empathise the inner struggle of the characters. To the writer, the whole film is trying to convey a rebellious attitude towards life and death. The spirit might be best illustrated by a comedian’s line in the film, “Drive carefully, better on the pavement, ‘cus there’re accidents on the road!”
Bloody Milk (Petit Paysan, 2017) is a French drama film directed by Hubert Charuel. It was also presented in 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The film is telling a story of a young farmer, Pierre, who has a herd of cows, and the milk produced by the cows sustains his family’s living. Pierre lives with his parents and his sister, and the family lives in the neighbourhood in which many people live the similar way. However, one day Pierre found out that an epidemic has made its way into the herd, so he started to try everything to save his cows. The film focuses on the struggles in different characters with close-ups and unstable shoots. Also the repetition of some images, such as the alarm clock and the same man speaking on his YouTube videos, piles up the tension and the sense of emergency as the plot develops. The film ends when Pierre is at the changing point of his life, but it does not give the audience any specific clue on how his life will develop later. It leaves the audience with a space to think about all the persistence the protagonist has and the how changeable life can be beyond our imagination.
Underdog (Svenskjävel, 2014) is a Swedish film directed by Ronnie Sandahl. The protagonist in the film is a 23-year-old Swedish girl, Dino, who moved to Oslo, seeking better opportunities and life. After breaking her arm, she has to settle for a babysitting job in a middle class family. In this family, Dino gradually builds connections with the family members, especially a sisters-like one with the older daughter Ida and an intimate one with the father of the two children, Steffen. Regardless the bound between the Dino and Steffen, it is impossible to for the two to break the family for themselves. In the end of the story, Dino received a life-changing gift from Ida. This film also uses many close-ups to capture the subtle changes in the facial expression to convey the emotion and thoughts of the characters. The difference in the close-ups is that they usually only capture one side of the faces instead of shooting from the front in which way the audience would see the whole faces. Personally the writer found this feature in the film successfully portrait the characters, and the contrast between light and darkness brings out the inner conflicts and pain. The film also uses tones and images skilfully. The scene in which the husband and wife stay by each other in silence is constructed in different shades of blue, dragging the audience into the wordless conversation between the couple. The tunnel Dino rides through on her way to the university can be regarded as the transformation of Dino’s life. “Underdog” is a film telling a growth story that people in our age can relate to.
Afterimage (Powidoki, 2016) is a Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. Under the background of the end of WWII, the influential professor in a school of arts, Strzemiński, is regarded as a target to “educate” by the government for the purpose of rebuilding the Polish nationalism. His students get suppressed in their creative careers, and he is deprived of his teaching position due to his rejection to serving the nation and the leader solely in nationalism and realism with his works. Losing the financial support, the family falls in difficulties, and the health condition of Strzemiński himself gets worse day by day. The audience witnesses how the nationalist totalitarian authority knocks the artist down by taking away all he has as a human and an advanced thinker. There are not many artistic filmic skills used in the film, but with the realistically presented scenes and the graceful pace, the film is able to hit the audience with the heaviness of the story.
These four films the writer is sharing with you are just a few presented in TEFF 2018, but hopefully after reading this article, you will be interested to participate in the next year’s Taiwan European Film Festival!
Quench Your Thirst: Best Tea Shops Around FJU For Parched Students
Recently, more and more tea shops have sprung up like mushrooms in Taiwan and they have become a part of everyone’s daily lives. It is easy to tell how successful they are since during the scorching summer, almost every person can be found with a cold handmade drink on the street.
This tea shop culture shows up not only on the streets of Taipei but also around FJU. There are about 8 to 9 tea shops close to FJU and since the expansion of the different brands of tea shops, they provide a variety of choices for the FJU students to give it a try. In this article, I will introduce those tea shops around FJU in an alphabetical order and include some consumer’s opinions in it. The purpose of the article is to let FJU students know more about different tea shops
First, COMEBUY, which is located on Jianguo 1st Road. According to COMEBUY official website, it has started its business since 2002 and it rapidly expends its branches to New Taipei City. The reason that it is really popular among young people because of its good service, high quality and delicate products and it really knows the preference of young people, which makes its “COMEBUY Original Bubble Milk Tea” to be sold like hot cakes. My favorite is mango yogurt because it tastes so soft and really rescues me from the hot summer. One FJU student tells me that she likes Osmanthus Four Seasons Oolong Tea since it is mellow after tasting and the smell is rich and aromatic. Therefore, if you have not drunk it before, maybe it is time to give it a try.
Second, on the other side of Family Mart is DaYung’s which is also located on Jianguo 1st Road. DaYung’s has been built up since 2001 and the first place it opened its store is in Zhanghua County based upon the information from its official website. Furthermore, in 2006, DaYung’s released the card named wang-ka which functions somehow like EasyCard. For example, before you buy any drink in DaYung’s, you need to deposit enough money in it and then you do not need to pay in cash, which is really convenient. About DaYung’s products, I like its grapefruit juice really much since it contains lots of fresh juicy grapefruit sac and it drinks like more natural and not so sweet. If you are the one who likes to drink citrus juice, you must try this one!
Third, KQTEA is next to TPTEA and is situated at Jianguo 1st Road. It is kind of interesting that so many tea shops are on the same road and the positions are all really nearby each other. According to the website of KQTEA, some of the features of KQTEA are that their dark brown sugar is all made in a natural way and they cooperate with the local farmers to get the fresh ingredients. One of the consumers from FJU English Department tells me that he loves Earl Black Iced Tea which is a combination of fruit iced tea and it contains certain kinds of fruit, such as apples, lemons and oranges. The reason why it becomes hot sale product of KQTEA is that the fruit aroma is lingering in your mouth after you sip at its juice. My top one of KQTEA is Jinxuan Ooling Tea because of its smoothness and its light fragrance.
Forth, this one is not really an entire tea shop and is sort of different from others I mentioned before. Furthermore, it offers not only handmade tea but also coffee and cakes in the stores. Do you have the answer? It is LOUSIA COFFEE which is next to POYA. LOUSIA COFFEE is funded in 2006 and after ten years, it reaches its 200th stores in Beitou based on the information on its website. Moreover, LOUSIA COFFEE is the popular place that FJU students often visit and they enjoy their flavorful tea or coffee and the exquisite cakes pretty much. It offers many kinds of handmade tea, such as fruit tea series, frappe series, selected British tea series and so on. The student whose major is Communication Arts says that he likes the Brow Sugar Milk Tea since its smell of Yorkshire tea and the smooth milk foam are fantastic. If you want more of the smell of richness milk, you can add 5 dollars to get it. Classic Fruity is my first choice because I am fascinated with its taste that is a little bit sour and sweet and at you can eat a little piece of apple after finish drinking it.
Fifth, one of the Milk Shop chain stores has been open for only eight months. The brand has become a trend of tea shops in recent years. Milk Shop emphasizes that its milk is not creamer but the local fresh milk and they highly, and strictly control the quality of their products with three main concepts: stay natural, stay hand-made and stay unique. Every time when I pass Milk Shop, I always order one of the green milk series, or Daija Taro Milk Tea, which includes many taros and the layers of the taste is creamy and tender. In addition, when drinking the taro milk tea, you will be amazed by how wonderful the texture is and enjoy eating the crunchy taros at the same time. There is a consumer telling me that he gives high grades to the unique formula of Milk Shop’s tapioca ball because its tapioca is mixed with the honey aroma but it will not be too sweet and the texture is quite like taro ball, so you will feel it is pretty chewy. Milk Shop is one of my tea shop pocket list and you must try if you have not buy any of their drinks yet.
Sixth, the Tea of Cool. Craving. Content is pretty familiar by everyone who lives in Taiwan and it is the most earlier one that has built its brand since 1994 in Tainan according to its own official website. It is located between COMEBUY and KQTEA. From its latest declaration that the consumers are allowed to use EasyCard to purchase their products, which is only adopted in Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung area. When it comes to my personal recommendation, I like Cacao Berry Latte/ Milk and the best sweetness level for it is less than half sugar, or you may feel it would be too sweet. Furthermore, if you like ice cream, you can ask the clerk to put a scoop of ice cream on the top of Cacao Berry, which will surprise you greatly and you are going to be obsessed with it.
After introducing many tea shops around FJU, I hope every reader will find their top one tea shop which will accompany them during the extremely hot summer and refresh them when they need something to chill.
This tea shop culture shows up not only on the streets of Taipei but also around FJU. There are about 8 to 9 tea shops close to FJU and since the expansion of the different brands of tea shops, they provide a variety of choices for the FJU students to give it a try. In this article, I will introduce those tea shops around FJU in an alphabetical order and include some consumer’s opinions in it. The purpose of the article is to let FJU students know more about different tea shops
First, COMEBUY, which is located on Jianguo 1st Road. According to COMEBUY official website, it has started its business since 2002 and it rapidly expends its branches to New Taipei City. The reason that it is really popular among young people because of its good service, high quality and delicate products and it really knows the preference of young people, which makes its “COMEBUY Original Bubble Milk Tea” to be sold like hot cakes. My favorite is mango yogurt because it tastes so soft and really rescues me from the hot summer. One FJU student tells me that she likes Osmanthus Four Seasons Oolong Tea since it is mellow after tasting and the smell is rich and aromatic. Therefore, if you have not drunk it before, maybe it is time to give it a try.
Second, on the other side of Family Mart is DaYung’s which is also located on Jianguo 1st Road. DaYung’s has been built up since 2001 and the first place it opened its store is in Zhanghua County based upon the information from its official website. Furthermore, in 2006, DaYung’s released the card named wang-ka which functions somehow like EasyCard. For example, before you buy any drink in DaYung’s, you need to deposit enough money in it and then you do not need to pay in cash, which is really convenient. About DaYung’s products, I like its grapefruit juice really much since it contains lots of fresh juicy grapefruit sac and it drinks like more natural and not so sweet. If you are the one who likes to drink citrus juice, you must try this one!
Third, KQTEA is next to TPTEA and is situated at Jianguo 1st Road. It is kind of interesting that so many tea shops are on the same road and the positions are all really nearby each other. According to the website of KQTEA, some of the features of KQTEA are that their dark brown sugar is all made in a natural way and they cooperate with the local farmers to get the fresh ingredients. One of the consumers from FJU English Department tells me that he loves Earl Black Iced Tea which is a combination of fruit iced tea and it contains certain kinds of fruit, such as apples, lemons and oranges. The reason why it becomes hot sale product of KQTEA is that the fruit aroma is lingering in your mouth after you sip at its juice. My top one of KQTEA is Jinxuan Ooling Tea because of its smoothness and its light fragrance.
Forth, this one is not really an entire tea shop and is sort of different from others I mentioned before. Furthermore, it offers not only handmade tea but also coffee and cakes in the stores. Do you have the answer? It is LOUSIA COFFEE which is next to POYA. LOUSIA COFFEE is funded in 2006 and after ten years, it reaches its 200th stores in Beitou based on the information on its website. Moreover, LOUSIA COFFEE is the popular place that FJU students often visit and they enjoy their flavorful tea or coffee and the exquisite cakes pretty much. It offers many kinds of handmade tea, such as fruit tea series, frappe series, selected British tea series and so on. The student whose major is Communication Arts says that he likes the Brow Sugar Milk Tea since its smell of Yorkshire tea and the smooth milk foam are fantastic. If you want more of the smell of richness milk, you can add 5 dollars to get it. Classic Fruity is my first choice because I am fascinated with its taste that is a little bit sour and sweet and at you can eat a little piece of apple after finish drinking it.
Fifth, one of the Milk Shop chain stores has been open for only eight months. The brand has become a trend of tea shops in recent years. Milk Shop emphasizes that its milk is not creamer but the local fresh milk and they highly, and strictly control the quality of their products with three main concepts: stay natural, stay hand-made and stay unique. Every time when I pass Milk Shop, I always order one of the green milk series, or Daija Taro Milk Tea, which includes many taros and the layers of the taste is creamy and tender. In addition, when drinking the taro milk tea, you will be amazed by how wonderful the texture is and enjoy eating the crunchy taros at the same time. There is a consumer telling me that he gives high grades to the unique formula of Milk Shop’s tapioca ball because its tapioca is mixed with the honey aroma but it will not be too sweet and the texture is quite like taro ball, so you will feel it is pretty chewy. Milk Shop is one of my tea shop pocket list and you must try if you have not buy any of their drinks yet.
Sixth, the Tea of Cool. Craving. Content is pretty familiar by everyone who lives in Taiwan and it is the most earlier one that has built its brand since 1994 in Tainan according to its own official website. It is located between COMEBUY and KQTEA. From its latest declaration that the consumers are allowed to use EasyCard to purchase their products, which is only adopted in Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung area. When it comes to my personal recommendation, I like Cacao Berry Latte/ Milk and the best sweetness level for it is less than half sugar, or you may feel it would be too sweet. Furthermore, if you like ice cream, you can ask the clerk to put a scoop of ice cream on the top of Cacao Berry, which will surprise you greatly and you are going to be obsessed with it.
After introducing many tea shops around FJU, I hope every reader will find their top one tea shop which will accompany them during the extremely hot summer and refresh them when they need something to chill.
Confession of a Theatre People: Hegel Tsai
by Eunice Ng
Photo by Hegel Tsai
Every student in the English Department must have the experience of taking part in the Mini Play during the end of the Introduction of Literature course in their freshman year. Yet this is the first time Hegel Tsai took part in a theatre production. He continued to participate in the department’s play production every semester after he graduated. Tsai was doing a great job in the English department as he is an advanced English language user and he blended into the environment of English department easily. He was happy with the study environment and he treated the opportunity to take part in the senior plays and the annual plays as an extra ‘reward’ in his university life.
As a former English department student, Tsai did not think having a real profession is necessary. ‘Artists’ with English language and literature background may doubt themselves or judge their professions when they entered the career of theatre production. The society had a stereotype that those who studied performing arts are more professional than a layman. Tsai absolutely did not agree with this. He pointed out these laymen might have more creativity than those professionals because their imagination are not limited. Those laymen have a free mind that they had the courage to break the rules, which Tsai thinks is important when doing theatre production. Also, the laymen seem to have more flexibility to overcome the hardships. He described, they’re just like an elastic band which changed their form, depended on how people hold it.
After Tsai graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University, he continued his master degree in Dramatic Literature in National Taiwan University. Although he had many practical experiences before, he noticed theory was also an important element in theatre study. “Theories make me to further analyze the script and help me to understand the play more.” Surprisingly, Tsai confessed that he did not watch many theatre productions when he was a university student. He figured out the stage aesthetics by himself from various movies. Normally he observes the motions and feels the tempo in the movie and then he tries to apply it in his production. After understanding the concept of directing aesthetics during his master degree, he kind of understands the elements needed to do a good production. Theatre means a lot to Tsai. When he was asked what theatre mean to him is, he explained it as ‘the unlimited practices of life.’ He gained many valuable experiences through theatre productions. He started to see those interactions between people. Besides, he learned to view his own blind spot. During the process of the whole production, he received both good and bad working reviews through the play discussion with actors and playwright.
During the interview, Tsai mentioned that he fell under influence of Anping, Our Town, a theatre production by Tainaner Ensemble. This is an adaptation of Thornton Wilson’s Our Town and he was hired as the director’s assistant in the production. He was in delight because he admired the director, Liao Zou-han so much. Liao always produced a smooth work and her directing techniques had deeply influenced Tsai, making him to set a target: keep working on and reach Liao’s level. Tsai said it was his destiny to accept the invitation from the production team of Anping, Our Town. He watched the 1940 version of Our Town in Dr. Murphy’s class when he was studying in Fu Jen. The images in the movie appeared when he was invited to join the team, and so he said why not he accepted this challenge? While Tsai was busy working, he hasn’t had a spare moment. As an assistant to the director, he absorbed the knowledge like a sponge. Directors and actors worked on the movements and the lines on stage, stage managers recorded things happening around, monitoring the technical department… Tsai was excited with this working environment. “It was definitely a precious time because I can tell everything happened around me was real as hell”, he concluded.
Talking about the visibility of theatres and dramas in Taiwan, Tsai confessed that they still have many spaces needed to be improved. Besides, he pointed out the musical starts to grab more Taiwanese’s attention within these few years. He then criticized the fact of people over-promoting the stage production. He thought it is a good thing to promote and make good use of the stadiums and halls built for these performing arts. But they focused on earning the money through ticket selling ad neglected the hard works of the individual units, which is a pity for the theatre “artists”. Involving in the performing arts industry is not easy at all. “I have no idea, I probably see performing arts as a self-commitment, nothing related to money,” Hegel Tsai answered. For him, salary is not what he is concerned of. He teaches in university, spending time on things he is interested in, enjoying the days doing theatre. He is able to feed himself and he is pretty satisfied. “I would rather spend my life doing things I love than regret in my old age.” Tsai refused to imagine how his life could be if he had another path years ago. He stepped into this world full of creativity and imagination due to his passion for theatre production. Four years of theatre experiences in English Department gave him the opportunity to explore the world of performing arts and forced him to try something new. Everything in university seems interesting to Tsai as he never approached to acting during his high school time because the education in high school is dull and it does not arouse his interests in enriching himself.
Furthermore, Tsai has begun to give some lectures in the university since last year. If you are an English department student who attended his class in the past semesters, you must be curious about how he started his teaching life. Here comes his humorous reply, “I got the job opportunity because Derrick Wei quitted his teaching job.” Right after he said this, he added on seriously, “I was invited by the professors.” Tsai wondered what he can do for the students and he was a little bit uncertain when he answered this. However, he turned into a serious mode when he tried to argue the statement about how society view performing art as a useless stuff. “Just because the value of performance cannot be measured, we called it art.” Tsai stated that theatre class can dig out different possibilities of a person and he hoped to see how students transformed and discovered their real-self through the course. People manage to know their preferences and abilities and they may find their own strength through the acting exercises. Additionally, it is obvious that the relationship between human being is important to Tsai when he finished his line.
Since English Department provided the opportunity for students to get involved in performing arts, they might have the concept and wish to make theatre arts production as their career. Tsai thought the idea of having a job in theatre art production is great. However, he warned the newbies that this industry was full with uncertainty and variability. So they must have a strong heart in order to survive. Furthermore, Tsai claimed that people who chose this path desired for different things than others. The pain could be overcome as long as they have enough confident, determination and passion to support their dreams. Also, willingness to learn and accepting failure are the important skills to make people become stronger in theatre industry. “Open up your mind, receive and absorb as much as you can. This is the way to keep you moving on.” This is what Tsai said to his students in the end of this interview. So, for those who wished to pursue your theatre dream, just give it your best shot and you will survive in this theatre industry.
As a former English department student, Tsai did not think having a real profession is necessary. ‘Artists’ with English language and literature background may doubt themselves or judge their professions when they entered the career of theatre production. The society had a stereotype that those who studied performing arts are more professional than a layman. Tsai absolutely did not agree with this. He pointed out these laymen might have more creativity than those professionals because their imagination are not limited. Those laymen have a free mind that they had the courage to break the rules, which Tsai thinks is important when doing theatre production. Also, the laymen seem to have more flexibility to overcome the hardships. He described, they’re just like an elastic band which changed their form, depended on how people hold it.
After Tsai graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University, he continued his master degree in Dramatic Literature in National Taiwan University. Although he had many practical experiences before, he noticed theory was also an important element in theatre study. “Theories make me to further analyze the script and help me to understand the play more.” Surprisingly, Tsai confessed that he did not watch many theatre productions when he was a university student. He figured out the stage aesthetics by himself from various movies. Normally he observes the motions and feels the tempo in the movie and then he tries to apply it in his production. After understanding the concept of directing aesthetics during his master degree, he kind of understands the elements needed to do a good production. Theatre means a lot to Tsai. When he was asked what theatre mean to him is, he explained it as ‘the unlimited practices of life.’ He gained many valuable experiences through theatre productions. He started to see those interactions between people. Besides, he learned to view his own blind spot. During the process of the whole production, he received both good and bad working reviews through the play discussion with actors and playwright.
During the interview, Tsai mentioned that he fell under influence of Anping, Our Town, a theatre production by Tainaner Ensemble. This is an adaptation of Thornton Wilson’s Our Town and he was hired as the director’s assistant in the production. He was in delight because he admired the director, Liao Zou-han so much. Liao always produced a smooth work and her directing techniques had deeply influenced Tsai, making him to set a target: keep working on and reach Liao’s level. Tsai said it was his destiny to accept the invitation from the production team of Anping, Our Town. He watched the 1940 version of Our Town in Dr. Murphy’s class when he was studying in Fu Jen. The images in the movie appeared when he was invited to join the team, and so he said why not he accepted this challenge? While Tsai was busy working, he hasn’t had a spare moment. As an assistant to the director, he absorbed the knowledge like a sponge. Directors and actors worked on the movements and the lines on stage, stage managers recorded things happening around, monitoring the technical department… Tsai was excited with this working environment. “It was definitely a precious time because I can tell everything happened around me was real as hell”, he concluded.
Talking about the visibility of theatres and dramas in Taiwan, Tsai confessed that they still have many spaces needed to be improved. Besides, he pointed out the musical starts to grab more Taiwanese’s attention within these few years. He then criticized the fact of people over-promoting the stage production. He thought it is a good thing to promote and make good use of the stadiums and halls built for these performing arts. But they focused on earning the money through ticket selling ad neglected the hard works of the individual units, which is a pity for the theatre “artists”. Involving in the performing arts industry is not easy at all. “I have no idea, I probably see performing arts as a self-commitment, nothing related to money,” Hegel Tsai answered. For him, salary is not what he is concerned of. He teaches in university, spending time on things he is interested in, enjoying the days doing theatre. He is able to feed himself and he is pretty satisfied. “I would rather spend my life doing things I love than regret in my old age.” Tsai refused to imagine how his life could be if he had another path years ago. He stepped into this world full of creativity and imagination due to his passion for theatre production. Four years of theatre experiences in English Department gave him the opportunity to explore the world of performing arts and forced him to try something new. Everything in university seems interesting to Tsai as he never approached to acting during his high school time because the education in high school is dull and it does not arouse his interests in enriching himself.
Furthermore, Tsai has begun to give some lectures in the university since last year. If you are an English department student who attended his class in the past semesters, you must be curious about how he started his teaching life. Here comes his humorous reply, “I got the job opportunity because Derrick Wei quitted his teaching job.” Right after he said this, he added on seriously, “I was invited by the professors.” Tsai wondered what he can do for the students and he was a little bit uncertain when he answered this. However, he turned into a serious mode when he tried to argue the statement about how society view performing art as a useless stuff. “Just because the value of performance cannot be measured, we called it art.” Tsai stated that theatre class can dig out different possibilities of a person and he hoped to see how students transformed and discovered their real-self through the course. People manage to know their preferences and abilities and they may find their own strength through the acting exercises. Additionally, it is obvious that the relationship between human being is important to Tsai when he finished his line.
Since English Department provided the opportunity for students to get involved in performing arts, they might have the concept and wish to make theatre arts production as their career. Tsai thought the idea of having a job in theatre art production is great. However, he warned the newbies that this industry was full with uncertainty and variability. So they must have a strong heart in order to survive. Furthermore, Tsai claimed that people who chose this path desired for different things than others. The pain could be overcome as long as they have enough confident, determination and passion to support their dreams. Also, willingness to learn and accepting failure are the important skills to make people become stronger in theatre industry. “Open up your mind, receive and absorb as much as you can. This is the way to keep you moving on.” This is what Tsai said to his students in the end of this interview. So, for those who wished to pursue your theatre dream, just give it your best shot and you will survive in this theatre industry.