Every country offers something unique: we had a lot of hands-on BBQ experiences in Korea, and we’re going to have more than enough bubble tea and Asian snacks in Taiwan. Before actually arriving in New Zealand and Australia, I thought the only cool aspect of these countries was the awesome warm weather—but boy, was I wrong!

We got to live in nice apartments in New Zealand and Sydney, and the best part was definitely the full kitchen. By the end of our first shopping day in Sydney, three of my roommates had each bought a dozen eggs. Also, a bottle of vegetable oil and other ingredients were ready on the counter. I had some serious doubts about whether the eggs could be finished in time, but I guess I underestimated my roommates. The smell of fried eggs filled the kitchen each morning; one of my roommates made egg and tomatoes (a Chinese dish) for us, and another baked scones for the whole room to share. Some of the other rooms made Chinese egg pancakes, carrot cake, and glutinous rice balls with sesame filling. I myself made a nice big bowl of caramel pudding. On the next shopping day, (surprise, surprise) eighteen more eggs were bought. When departing for Melbourne, we were told that we will be living in apartments for the whole of Australia. I wonder how many eggs it’s going to take to satisfy our cooking craze!

March 4, 2011