My New Home

I can't believe it's only been a week and a half since I've gotten here! It seems like it's been forever, I have been so busy every day. I finally moved into my new dorm room on Wednesday morning and said goodbye to my wonderful cousin, who went back to Fangliao. On Wednesday I met my fellow CIEE classmates. There are 17 total, from schools all over the US. The CIEE organizers are all sooooo nice! They are so organized and planned out a whole week and a half of activities for us to do, and we have "Ambassadors" (fellow ZhengDa students) who are our mentors. They are all extremely helpful and nice, and so much fun to be around. Every day we have a little bit of an orientation and do needed things like setting up bank accounts, getting cell phones, etc. and then we go sightseeing around Taipei or just go hang out with other students and ambassadors (as I am writing this I am finding myself trying to translate my thoughts from Chinese to English... so I have to think about what I am writing sometimes... haha, my mind is getting a little twisted). Wednesday night they threw us a welcome party and we got to see a few of the activities that we can get involved in here (like ballroom dancing, guitar club, etc.) Thursday we all went out to breakfast and lunch and then to LongShan Temple in Taipei, which is one of the biggest and most famous Buddist/Taoist temples in Taiwan, and then afterwards we wandered around one of Taipei's shopping districts and ate shaved ice. Yesterday, we went to a karaoke (KTV) place, which was tons of fun!!! There were over 20 of us in one room, and it got a little crazy, to say the least. Afterwards, we went to a small night market and then came back home to crash... everyone was so tired.

It really has been a great time. Even though this is only day 4 here at Zheng Da, I feel like I am already at home. The people, the food, the city, everything! I love Taiwan and am loving Taipei and I am sure that after one year here, I won't be so ready to leave!

Finally here!

It's day 3 here in Taiwan and I am with my cousin, Tien-Hsin, visiting relatives and just hanging out before I have to go to Zheng Da University on the 20th. I arrived here Sunday night, August 10, after an 18-hour flight (and the lady sitting next to me had a dog in a duffel bag) with my cousin Po-Hsi and there were 7 people waiting for us at the airport. I love having so much family here! Tien-Hsin and I stayed at a relative's house for the night and then the next day we rode the bus 2 hours south to 台中 (Taichung), to stay in her dorm room for a few days, and then tomorrow we will go to the southern end of Taiwan to 枋寮 (Fangliao), my mother's hometown. I've met a few of Tien-Hsin's friends and we went to the night market, where you can find tons of cheap clothes, bags, shoes, random things, and best of all, awesome food. Then yesterday we went out to a restaurant for lunch with a few of her classmates. The weather here is SOOOOO hot and humid, just walking around during the day is like sitting in a sauna with a turtleneck and jeans. And the sun here is so strong, you have to cover yourself up or you will get extremely sunburned within just a few minutes, and many of the girls carry umbrellas and wear long sleeves. I still have to get used to the heat! Well, this is it for now, we'll be travelling around for the next week or so but I'll try to update when I can!