4 days

Day 1. Aug, 25th:
The first day I was in Taiwan I woke up pretty early and felt pretty good. I was surprised that I wasn't jet lagged. I was just talking with my host family and reading. Around noon I went to read in my room and fell asleep when I woke up it was dark! I had slept for five hours! I couldn't believe I had slept for that long. My host parents took me on a walk to see my school. It is very close to our house. After we saw the school, we had ice cream. It was made from soymilk and was very tasty. The chocolate didn't have a noticeable difference, but the vanilla did and it was just as good, if not better, than dairy-based vanilla. The cone tasted like it had a different base too but I couldn't tell what it was.

Day 2. August 26th:
I ate breakfast with my host mom. She noticed my nails and I showed her the polish I brought. She showed me the polish that they have. She let me paint her nails with my favorite orange color. We were watching Bucket List when my computer died. My host sister said, "we're going to Taichung to visit my dad's brother, we're leaving now." My cousins were really nice, especially Racheal, who went with me and Sophia to a theater that was designed by a famous Japanese architect, apparently. We ate dinner with what was probably my baba's whole family. There was really tasty dishes, really spicy dishes, and dishes that I wouldn't eat again if I could help it. But now I can say I've had seven-year egg. 

Day 3. August 27th:
I went out for breakfast with Sophia in the morning we had dumplings and an egg dish that were really good. After that, we took a bus to meet up with the Inbound from Slovakia, David, and his host brother, a rebound who went to Italy, King. We hiked 象山 or Elephant Mountain. By the time we got to the top, we were all covered in sweat and out of breath. But, it was fun, and the view alone made it worth it.

After that, we went to a birthday party for a rebound from Italy named Calvin. He was really nice and I met a bunch of awesome locals. I also met an inbound from Lithuania named Elana. It was really fun! We sat around a Taiwanese BBQ and ate whatever anyone put on the grill. The fish that they made was AMAZING. The two girls sitting next to me made sure that I got to try everything and that I didn't eat anything you weren't supposed to.

Day 4. August 28th:
Today it rained almost all day so we had to stay inside. But we went to apply for my ID card and get a sim card. I also had traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup (四川牛肉麵) My host family was surprised and pleased to watch me drink the broth.

Travel and first day in Taiwan

Me and Alice at the airport

I was really pleased with myself for handling travel well and finding my gates easily. I could ramble on and on about these two days but for time sake I'm going to do this post as a photo diary with captions explaining each photo.

Mom, Forest, and I at the airport

me and Dad

Goodbye South Bend

Take off

Japan!

From terminal 1 to terminal 2 in Tokyo airport

Japanese Toilet

Host family

View from my room

My new room

Look! I've made so many friends already!!!

First meal in Taiwan. Right to left egg roll thingy (very yummy) peanut butter toast, soy milk, hot cocoa

Dinner!!

Soy milk ice cream!! (No room for cows on tiny island)

Coolest key I've ever seen!!

Birthday Cake!!

Last day in South Bend

My last day went really well. I went to a Rotary meeting in the morning and everyone was happy to see me. I finished packing in the afternoon. Then I went downtown to hang out with some friends. The weather was perfect. I went to the Chickery cafe, where I met up with Wasa, Tam, and Alice. Wasa and Tam went shopping so Alice and I just wandered around Downtown trying chocolate at the Chocolate Cafe,  playing on the College Football hall of fame field, and chatting. We eventually went to the island behind the Century Center where we watched the mist from the waterfalls sparkle with rainbows in the sunlight. After that, Alice, mom, dad, and I went to a fundraiser dinner where I won super soft, orange leggings. We went out for ice cream at La Rosita (the best ice cream place in South Bend) where I got mango sorbet with fresh mango on top. It was a great last day, and I was very happy with myself for being able to sleep that night.

PACKING

Packing for exchange was very slow but it felt really good when I was done, which is why I should have done it a lot sooner. After you're done packing you feel confident and ready to go. That is a very good feeling for an exchange student. Every exchange student I know does not know how to start. So here are five tips that will help.

1) Start with a clean, and organized room.
Don't try to pack in clutter, it will only make you more anxious and it will be harder to find things.

2) Pick out luggage that you like and that will stand out
Don't pick out luggage that you think will make other people happy. This is your exchange and doing small things like having a suitcase that's your favorite color will help you build your individuality and independence. Also, a unique color or pattern will help you to find it in the luggage claim 

3) Make a list and stick to it
this will help prevent over packing and relieve you of the feeling that you are forgetting something

4) Use vacuum bags
these will make fitting jackets and jeans into your suitcase much easier  

5) Make clear, easy to read luggage tags
put them on your carry on bags as well, this will make emergency contact info easily accessible. You never know what might happen to your bags. I have a friend who was on two of my flights with me, instead of her bag going to Taipei one of them went to Las Angeles!

ta da!

Art Beat and Host Gifts

Today we went to Art Beat. If you arrive in Indiana before this weekend you should defiantly go. There is so much cool art to enjoy and buy. I walked around looking for gifts for my host parents with Wasa, my friend who is going to France. The nice thing about Art Beat is that all the best people in town come out to admire the displays. I saw many people I knew, it was a lot of fun to get to talk to them all.

Host gifts for the women in the family (All bought at Art Beat)

My friend, Alice, dancing

Amazing little boy dancing to Micheal Jackson

Me, Aggy, Wasa, and Zuzana