What’s one restaurant in Taipei you’d recommend that everyone should experience at least once?

Honestly not much of a food person, mostly stick to eating at small local restaurants and food stalls. There’s a really good place in the Gongguan night market that sells Vietnamese sandwiches, those are delicious. Also, I’m a vegetarian and there are two really good spots in Guting right next to each other, 客来源素坊, for their 紅燒麵 and 泰式酸辣乾麵, and the other spot 泓得素食 for their 簡餐.

 What’s an authentic restaurant that serves food from your home country?

Place that serves good authentic American food? Hooters is as about as American as it gets.

 Do you have a go-to comfort food spot in Taipei that you absolutely love?

McDonalds soft serve ice cream vanilla ice cream is my go-to comfort food. It’s like 15 NTD and delicious. CP值超級高！

 What’s a hidden gem in Taiwan—a place or activity—that you think foreigners should know about?

Something all foreigners should know about is river tracing, a sport that involves walking up streams. You put on grippy boots and then get to swim and boulder up to spots with waterfalls, cliff jumping, and natural pools. Perfect for a hot summer day.

 How did you find out about the Community Services Center?

I found about the Center through a friend who was having issues adjusting to the work culture in Taiwan.

 What’s one book, movie, or piece of media you think everyone should experience at least once—and why?

One of my favorite books is called Taipei by Tao Lin. His stream of conscious writing style captures the minute details of living in the modern world.

 What piece of advice would you give to someone new to living in Taiwan?

Learn Chinese. Learn Chinese. Learn Chinese.

 What inspired your walk across Taiwan, what did you see, and what were your biggest takeaways from that journey?

I’d been living in Taiwan for 14 years, and I wanted to make sure if this is somewhere I could stay for another 14 years. As I walked, I met people from all over and realized that the South is really chill! I also found out that my concerns about the trip, (heat, rain, pain), came true in some way, but those challenges were manageable.