Getting to downtown Taichung, we took two different types of buses. I think the first one was a local bus mainly for students around the nearby campus area. The other, the brightly green colored "U-bus," seemed to be public transit managed by the city. We were able to use credit stored on our student cards (which can be recharged at the on campus 7-11 {side note* yes there is 7-11, and they are everywhere! no joke, the locals call it just "seven."} - go figure...) to pay for the first bus. But, the U-Bus did not take the student card, so each ride on the U-Bus was $20NT. I am not sure if that is a flat rate or not. Every bus ride I have taken so far has been $20NT, however when you board the bus they swipe a card, give it to you, and when you get off you swipe the card again - most likely to show the distance traveled. For longer distances the bus ride may cost more money. The buses in Taiwan don't automatically stop at every stop. If you're trying to get on the bus you need to hail the bus driver by waving your hands from the bus stop, usually, sometimes they will just stop. If you're on the bus there is a button on the wall to press indicating the driver to stop at the next stop to get off. If the light is lit-up on the button there is no need to press the button again.
For lunch we were taken to a Chinese tea house. The tea house served food as well as tea. When we arrived at the tea house there was a "geisha" being photographed - As you can see from the photos, the place was very beautiful.
There were many individual rooms for larger parties to eat, smaller spots for couples, and some tables for a more casual sitting. 
In the center of the tea house was a large Coy pond. After you finish eating, they will give you fish food to feed to the Coy. The fish know when it is time to be fed, they scurry to the location of the food and battle for the small bits. There must have been at least 20-40 Coy in the pond.Dinner is served hot - literally. A flame is lit under the cast iron bowl keeping the dish simmering as you transfer the food from the iron self-serving bowl to your rice bowl. After about 10-15 minutes the flame goes out, but the food is still smoking.
Like everywhere I have been so far, the food is delicious.
Food is cooked with a lot of seasonings and herbs. Each dish has its own unique blend of flavor. I would have to say the best part of traveling is tasting new foods. Unless you have food allergies, forget making sense of the Chinese menus and just pick one - they're all good, you will be pleasantly surprised. And for the times you're not... oh well, the food is cheap.After dinner we were taught how to pour tea... which I doubt is my cup of tea. Here's a video of me serving and drinking my own tea, cheers.
We all took turns pouring tea, about an hour later drinking over 10 cups of Wu Long tea each. The Chinese tea ceremony is much different than Japan's Cha-No-Yu (literally, hot water over tea). Here, making tea was actually pretty simple, but still highly revered.
First, hot water is kept boiling in a pot over an indoor burner. In a second pot, individual tea leaves are kept waiting to be poured on by the water. Once the first bit of water is poured over the tea leaves, it is quickly poured into a third pot with a filter. I think this is to cleanse the tea leaves before letting the water sit to brew. After the water is poured into the third pot it is then poured into the tea cups. Then, the tea cups are emptied onto a bamboo tray with drainage holes.
I think to purify the glasses. They are not drank. Then, each tea cup is set on a towel to wipe off any wetness on the bottom and reset back on the tray. Then, water is again poured over the tea leaves in the second pot, left to brew for about 5-10 minutes, and poured again into the third pot with the filter, to be finally poured into the tea cups. The server will pour each guest's cup first, then his/her own. Once everyone is served, they begin to drink. (we weren't that strict, we drank at our own leisure.)
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