Sanxia Old Street

My friend, Sandy, from school, invited me to go with her and her sister to Sanxia Old Street. It was two rows of amazing old buildings that were filled with street vendors. It was a lot of fun herl sister, Racheal was really nice. We also went with one of Racheal's classmates who was really good at English but was very shy. They were asking me questions about America. When I began to explain American politics Nes said that they study American politics in school! I was very impressed. it was a fun night, they're good friends.

Is it a bean burrito? Is it hummus and pita? No, it's ice cream!! Crushed peanuts, cilantro, and ice cream wrapped in a thin wheat tortilla proved to be very tasty!!   

All through the flavor of stinky tofu is good, the smell makes it very unappetizing and hard to eat

Me trying my first Winter melon tea

As it turns out, pigs blood cake is not cake. Its rice and seasoning soaked in pigs blood. This was my first pig's blood cake and it was pretty good.  

Pig's Blood Cake stall

School

I started school last Thursday. I was really nervous and I had no idea what to expect. My sister walked me to school and went into the meeting with me. There were four other exchange students there, only two of which I had previously met. There is Elana from Lithuania, David from Slovakia, William from Denmark, and Heloisa from Brasil. We arrived at nine and the brief meeting was about how school would go for us exchangers. But it was in Chinese so the exchangers were still in the dark. Then the parents left and the five of us talked and got to know each other. Now I can't believe that I've only known them for about a week! My first class was math, I thought that I could participate because its numbers, but unfortunately I still don't understand anything. My classmates are really nice. My friend, Sandy, speaks the best English of them. The others only speak a little bit. I'm hoping that that will help me learn Chinese in the long run. During class time I practice writing characters, or I read, or draw, depending on my mood. They don't have us do any school work though. I know that learning Chinese is hard and I should cut myself some slack, but It's SO frustrating that I can't communicate with all of these smart, friendly, and kind people that I have met. I joined the volleyball team. We have practice from 7 to 8 on Mondays and Fridays. It's a good workout maybe it will keep me from getting too fat.😆

My P.E. Uniform

My beautiful Bei Da mug designed by one of the students. This mug was our welcoming gift on the first day 

4 out of the five exchange families. This is us after eating Japanese food at a very fancy restaurant

Our lovely school ❤

Had I ever used a squat toilet before I came to Taiwan? Nope. In fact, I had never even seen one. But they're in our school 

If you get the chance to use a squat toilet, face the hole, not all squat toilets can take paper wast so it is better to throw it in the trash. They're not bad, I 'm not used to them enough to say I like them more... but I have a feeling that I will get to that point

My everyday uniform

School lunch!! So much better than school lunch in the U.S.

My snazzy Bei Da back pack

First Rotary meeting!!

My first Rotary meeting was today! It went very well. It started with dinner, where I met a bunch of kindly Rotarians. Then we sat down to the meeting, which began by singing several songs, about Rotary, Karaoke style. And, there was one in English! After that, we sang happy birthday to four Rotarians who had recent birthdays. The cake was very good! 😋 The presenter was incredibly passionate, to the point where although I couldn't understand him he was entertaining to watch. Then I introduced myself to the club (in Chinese!) The president, Rick Chen gave me our club's banner, my monthly allowance, and an awesome pin. I gave him an American flag banner and pin. It all went over very well, and many pictures followed. It was much longer than the meetings I'm used to. From 6 to 9! Granger Sunrise Rotary only has hour-long meetings!

My name tag. Can you guess which characters are my Chinese name?

All women's' sister club was a guest at today's meeting. (I love their matching dresses and blazers!!)

Truly "Formosa"

I am constantly in awe of Taiwan's majestic beauty. The photos that I will post do not do it justice. The mountains, rivers, city lights, even the rice fields are beyond words. I can see mountains from my bedroom and classroom. On every bus ride, I see a\ cityscape that will take your breath away. At my school, only the rooms are indoors. All of the halls are outside, almost like a typical American motel. During our breaks sometimes I leave the classroom just to look at the sky, the mountains, fields, or buildings. I will post these pictures in hopes of catching your interest, but remember to completely understand you will have to experience it in person and even then, with open eyes.

My School

The view from my school

Camp Jumpstart

Saturday morning I got on a bus that was full of exchange students. Only five of whom I had met. The air was filled with the loud, cheerful voices of people from all over the world. When we arrived at the conference building there were even more exchange students. We were split into small, random, groups that we spent the weekend with. The thing about being an exchange student is that you instantly make friends with other exchange students. I made so many new friends who I hope to grow close with over the next few months. I know that sounds cheesy but it's very true :) There were quite a few presentations, but I think that all had good information. We played games to help us learn colors, numbers, directions, and most importantly, tones. We made dumplings, which we ate. And tried many new foods. I tried aloe for the first time, it was quite strange and very sour. We signed forms granting permission to be subject to random drug testing (which I had no idea was a thing but won't be a problem for me ;) And of course, we danced. I have one dance move, that I use over and over again. It's the "coffee grinder" and it goes over very well with exchange students. I recommend finding that dance move, or just be from Brazil because I haven't met a Brazilian who couldn't dance. Overall the conference went very well. One of the things I found most impressive about it was that it was almost completely run by Rotex! (Rotex are exchangers who went and came back more than a year ago) I am inspired I have already contacted our Rotex president to let him know I would like to be one after my Rebound year. (If I find more pictures later I'll try to add them but I didn't take very many)