When I first came to Taiwan I was surprised by two things: I didn’t realize that tropical climate means tropical storms, and I had no idea there was going to be so many amazing activities organized by my study abroad program to encourage us to learn more about Taiwan. One such event that I am beyond glad I participated in and that was not ruined by turbulent weather was a collaboration with a local NPO called iPower at their Laomei site, which is one of the northernmost points of Taiwan. iPower is dedicated to providing educational resources to youth and their families in rural parts of the North Coast community, and we got to meet the founder and a few youth leaders for a day of gardening, cultural and language exchange, cooking, and everything in between.
One of the snacks we prepared was 百香果海燕窩, a passionfruit coral seaweed jelly. A warning for anyone who is reading this at Wellesley right now, I know its getting cold and the dining hall grapefruits are losing the little sparkle they might have had at the beginning of the semester, so if you don’t want to hear about warm weather and awesome fruit stop reading now lolll……….. Taiwan’s hot and humid (sub)tropical climate as well as dedicated farming practices help to produce absolutely delicious fruits. I came just in time for the end of mango season, also getting to enjoy the juiciest pineapples, pomelos, dragonfruit, and passionfruit. Anyways, after clearing out a few overgrown sections of the garden and planting lettuce sprouts, the fruity, ice cold, QQ 百香果海燕窩 was the perfect snack to help us cool down from the sun. The real seaweed jelly is collected from the seas by experienced aunties and then processed until clear, but because of changes in ocean environments and the tonnes of trash that pollute Taiwan’s beaches, its getting harder and harder to harvest real seaweed. Once the jelly is acquired, it is then haphazardly chopped up with whatever utensils are around, adding some water and ice for that sweet sweet cooling effect, then the passionfruit for that sweet sweet sweetness. Following our snacking session, we took bags, gloves, tongs, and headphones and headed up to the beach for a cleanup and silent disco session. I opted to listen to the waves instead, letting the bittersweet lessons of the day wash over me.
