A Rotary Tour

Saturday I woke up early to go on a tour with Rotarians and some of there families. Two other exchange students were there, Dani from Mexico and Marta from Spain. Unfortunately,  we were on different buses. Our first stop was a place that made grass jelly and tea. I tried two kinds of grass tea and two kinds of jelly. Grass tea is a flavor that's really hard to explain. It's really bitter but they usually sweeten it. Grass jelly is pretty much a soft jello made out of the tea. Our next stop was a historical site from when the Japanese occupied Taiwan that had been turned into an art gallery. My favorite piece was a delicate flower relief. Our third stop was a beautiful hiking trail next to a lake. We took many pictures but I love just being in Taiwan's nature. It varies so much from what I'm used to it's incredibly interesting. After the hike, we went to lunch. The other two exchangers were at my table so I was able to talk with them. Everything was going fine, I had even successfully tried pig intestine but then I tried the stinky tofu. I've had stinky tofu before and it's fine, what I didn't know about this Stinky tofu was that it was covered in hot peppers. I have gotten much better with spice since I got here but this dish was hot. My face got hot and my eyes started to water so much that tears actually made it past my cheeks. Thank God I was facing away from the rest of the restaurant! It was fine, I handled it with good humor but I was pretty embarrassed at first. Fifth on the list was an Old Street which, unfortunately, I can't remember the name of. This Old Street was crowded but fun. My host sister and I hung out with Jeff, who hopes to go to Spain next year, and his brother Ivan, who went to Germany for exchange. At that point, I was getting tired and kind of grumpy so it was a bit difficult to enjoy. Our final stop was dinner at dinner I tried three goat meat, which was quite good, and chicken feet! The idea of having a chicken foot in my mouth was very strange. I would try fried but I don't think I'll be eating boiled again, it's too soft. After a long day, our trip was over. The exchangers, past, present, and future, exchanged hugs and we said bye to everyone else before we parted ways. Although people do not hug in Taiwan, just about all exchange students hug hello and goodbye, it reminds the inbounds of home and the rebounds of exchange.