capybara 101
AUGUST 16TH, 2026
FEELING: like I emit a sort of “lets get him” energy that only groups of small children pick up on
Surprise! I’m writing this in the morning before school starts! Yesterday was very fun but I am legitimately a little sore from all of the torment from the small children, I guess this is a consequence of proxy-older-sibling-hood.
Yesterday we kicked the day off by going to a capybara cafe ft. special guest: Zeke’s friend Anton! We rode in the car to Taipei and ate hotpot before getting to pet and feed two capybaras. I learned four things. 1.) Capybara fur is actually very coarse, it feels kind of like petting what I imagine a hedgehog would feel like. 2.) Capybaras are actually really big, they’re like the size of a really fat husky. 3.) Capybaras are rodents! 4.) When a capy is happy, their hair sticks up and makes them look extra fluffy. Bonus fifth thing, the chinese word for capybara is literally just capybara in a chinese accent (kǎpībālā). Side note, I’m getting really annoyed with all the AI art I see here in stores, it wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t all have that piss yellow filter on it, nobody else can tell it’s AI but the filter is just so ugly/tacky to me.
After the cafe we went to Taipei 101 and I actually got to see the view from the top this time! At this point in the story Anton (reminder he is 7) lost one of his front teeth, good job Anton! We ate cool egg cakes shaped like the building and I was order number 101, I thought this would get me some cool free stuff but alas… We also got to see the wind damper which is just a big gold ball that keeps the building from falling over, pretty cool! Very funny to me though that there was a huge line of excited children waiting to see something called a “tuned mass damper.”
Lastly we went to a peking duck place with some extended family that I had only met as a kid. In total, there were 6 small children there. Then, during dinner, they all simultaneously decided that tickling me while I was eating would be the funniest thing ever. The 4 year old didn’t even speak English, but my “lets get him” aura apparently transcends language barriers. Food was good and we all went to a craft store.
I’m PMSing but things are good!
