Behind the Music: Guo Qing Rock Band.

The past two days have been nothing but class and practicing with the Guo Qing Rock Band. Quite literally, we wake up in the morning, study a little, practice downstairs, eat, go to class, practice some more, eat, practice some more. The NTU International concert is the Monday after we get back from Hong Kong, and we leave for Hong Kong tomorrow morning, making these past two days the last two days we have to practice before the performance. Is the Guo Qing Rock Band ready? Absolutely not, but we're getting there.

Today, the EAP program put our EAP money to good use and bought us all Thanksgiving dinner at TGI Friday's. You can't get more American than TGI Friday's, and the food was good, but it was a set menu and admist all the hungry hungry people (there were about 40 of us!) we didn't really get to being stuffed full like you would at a Thanksgiving dinner back home. Shame!

I'm really missing Thanksgiving back home right now. This is probably my first Thanksgiving ever not spent with my family and cousins at home pigging out on turkey, stuffing and pie. I love it here in Taiwan but this along with missing the LA Auto Show with my dad (the first time since I was like 4!) is starting to make me a little homesick!

Afterwards we spent a good half an hour watching this kid in front of Sogo. He had just learned how to walk, it seemed like, and he was having a BLAST doing it. This kid was seriously awesome; so energetic yet unable to speak, he would look at us and shout out, and stomp away, falling over. Whenever he saw my camera he would pose for it. And he tried chasing after this other girl his age, failed, and went to the girls in our group instead. What a womanizer!

Kid creeped up on my in the middle of my BYAH! pose.

Get it, shawty.

The Guo Qing Rock Band spent the rest of tonight at this band practice place in Ximen. Apparently band practice rooms are popular because it was really tough to book a room here on a Tuesday night. Basically it's a place chock full of small rooms for you to practice drums or guitar. Then, there are a few larger rooms with provided amps, drums, and mixers for your whole band to practice in. Basically the place was absolutely sweet and I loved it there!

We had an hour break during our practice session and we spent it outside on the sidewalks of Ximen. Ximen is famous for its various performers on the sidewalks, from legless homeless people playing the harmonica to singers trying to pawn their latest homemade CD to people making puppets dance on the floor. So the Guo Qing Rock Band, with guitar, bass, violin and singer sitting around, felt right at home practicing. Salah Monster drew a crowd with her violin playing and we tryed to get some money out of the gig but it was a no go!

Casey and Nancy showing the locals how it's done. Just give us some money!!!

Our second hour showed massive improvement, and we were feeling pretty good about how we were performing by the end of the night. We were nothing compared to the absolutely ROCKIN' band practicing right next to us, but we were playing pretty well compared to how we were playing when we first got there. Living out our rock band fantasies, rocking out on guitar, drums and microphone while looking out in our room over the busy Ximen district was really something special.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Hong Kong until Sunday, so I probably won't be updating for a while, but you can bet I'll be returning with hella pics and things to write about. Though, is it really Adventures in Taiwan if I'm in Hong Kong?

Anyway, until next time, zai jian!

-Justin