Countdown

This is my last post from Taiwan. I'll probably post at least once when I get back. That post will probably be during the 7 hours I'm stuck in the LA airport. I've been out and about lately. I went to Kaosiong in southern Taiwan the other day to visit a friend. We had a great time. We went to a nightmarket and we visited a few other places around town. I'm off to Taizhong with my Chinese teacher today. We're going to KTV. KTV is kareoke television and a pretty common source of entertainment here. Most people have a system in their home. I'll be going to Taizhong again before I leave to visit the art museum. Mostly I need to pack. I have got a fair amount shoved away, but it is going to take a bit more work. I can't belive I'll be shipped back to the U.S. in a few days. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th. I love you!

Zai Jian!

Incase you were wondering, Taiwan's independance day is on the 1st of January.

Schools Out!

No more waking up early. No more getting home at five. My sleep cycle is gretly improved. I miss my friends, but I have another final final day on Thursday. I've already gone to Taizhong to hang out with one of my friends. Unfortunatly most of my other plans have been postponed. It starts raining cats and dogs at around noon everyday. My chinese teacher and I are going out to dinner tonight. Not sure where yet. Getting my stuff packed up id proving to be a challange. I seem to have accumulated a large ammount of stuff. A lot of it seems to be stuff people have given me. THough most of the stuff is just my stuff. I'll figure out a way to get ride of what I don't need before I leave. I get back on July 9th. I only want family to meet me at the airport. (H can come too) I'll need a few days of rest before I'm prepared to go out into the world again, but it shouldn't take too long. I love you all, thanks for everything. You're amazing.

Zai Jian!

School

This is my final week of school. It is a bit sad. It is also rather boring. Many of my classes have been cancled because my classmates have to study for final exams. This means I spend a lot of time in the library. It isn't horrible, but it will be nice when school ends. Last weekend I went with one of my classmates to the Taizhong art museum. It was interesting. We saw an exhibition of Marc Chagall. Next weekend I'm heading back to Taizhong to hang out with some of my friends. I don't have a lot planed for after school ends, but something should come up. I'll probably go to Taipei once or twice. Thank you for all of your love and support.

Zai Jian!

If you have any questions, please ask.

Plans

My weekends are full for at least the next 2 weeks. Next week I'm going to the Taipei National Art Museum with a classmate, the week after I'm going to Taichung to hang out with some friends. It should be fun and I'll deffinetly bring my camera. I'm not to thrilled about the long train rides, but as long as I have a fully charged mp3 player, I should be fine. School has been keeping me bussy enough. I only have a week more of classes untill I can finnaly start sleeping in. Not much to report this week. The next post should be a lot longer. Thank you for all your love and support.

Zai Jian!

P.S. Mom, if the giant desk in my room happened to be ubducted by one of the boys, I wouldn't mind. It is just taking up space.

Trip!

I had a great time. It was fun to hang out with the other exchange students and to chat. School is going well, but it was nice to have a week off. I got an e-mail and it looks like my flight will leave Taipei on the 9th of July at 4:40 pm and arrive 2:05 pm in L.A. Then I have a flight to Sac. Yah. Time travel. Sweet. Okay, I'm tired. This was my first day back at school and I spent a lot of time sewing. Love you all!

Zai Jian!

Trip

Tomorow I leave for a 7 day trip, so there will be no post next Tues. I should have plenty of pictures when I come back, and hopefully a magnet or two. Love you!!!

Zai Jian!

Keeping Order

So this post is going to be about how teachers and student relationships work in Taiwan. If it sounds boring then feel free to skip it.
So students start learinging how Taiwan school life works right away. Once a week in the kindergarten the students go outside stand in line with there class and do exercises (they dance, it is adorable). This eventualy evolves into twice a week school wide gatherings in high school. Mondays we all stand outside with our classes. Military style. Someone in front yells out the way we are supposed to stand, hands held behind our back, hands at our sides, or on had on the hip. There is no slouching or talking, unless no one is looking. We have 3 military officers on campus. They help everyone stay in line. Corporal munishment is not alowed, they just yell. Luckily I don't get punished. Though, I could waltz off campus and no one would think anything was wrong (don't worry Mom, I don't ditch school). On Wednesdays we also meet, same place same time. Except this time we do a 5 minute exercise routine.
When class starts and the teacher walks in, everyone stands up. Then we great the teacher and do a little bow. Students don't ask questions in class and rarley is student participation activly used. I have some great teachers that don't always follow this ideal, but it is very different from America. In the U.S. the teacher demands attention, in Taiwan it is readily given. When students pass teachers in the hall, they say hello.
I think Taiwans system is a bit too strict, but that America's is deffinetly to lax.

Thanks for reading this and for everything else. I love you!

Zai Jian!

Speeches

I have to give a speech in a few days. It is my Rotary Club's birthday, and it is the job of the exchange student to give a speech. The speech is all written out and now I just need to add the finishing touches to my memorization. I didn't have school the other day, so I went and took some pictures. Sorry this post is short. Love you and thanks for everything!

Zai Jian!

The Taizhong Art Museum

Last Saturday I spent the day out and about. My morning was spent sitting in a MacDonald helping one of my friends prepare for an English exam. It didn't actually involve me needing to say too much English. Mostly I had to make sure she understood the questions. Then, I took the train to Taichung. It is a 45 minute train ride, and I was very glad to have my mp3 player. Then, I hoped on a bus. Of course, I accidentally hoped on the wrong green number 75 bus. I went to the end of the line, and then hoped on a bus going the other way and eventually made it to the museum.




I had a great time. They had some great exhibits, and beautiful sculptures outside. I had a great time, but was quite exhausted from my bus rides. I spent most of the next day asleep, which was quite a nice change from waking up early. Thank you sor all your love and support!

Zai Jian!

Taiwan Exchange Student Confrence

Last Saturday and Sunday I went to Tainan for the giant student conference. Only one district from Taipei wasn't there, so I didn't get to see Taylor. I did get to meet some great new people and see my other friends. We listened to a lot of speeches and had two discussion. The speeches were... interesting. The discussions were good. I was in one discussion about how to learn Chinese, and another with the Americans and outbounds going to America. We mostly told the outbounds to be outgoing and talk to people. None of them had any questions, so either they didn't get the message or they are very well prepared. I had a great time, but was exhausted by the end. We road the bus 3 hours back to Taizhong. Then, I took a train home. The train was packed. Close your eyes and imagine for a second. People were pushed close together and piling onto the train. I had to pass up 4 or 5 doors onto the train because there were so many people. It was just a wall of bodies. I ended up getting home just fine. Thank you for all of your love and support!

Zai Jian!

Balloons and Exhaustion

Important info: Our school P.E. uniform is a different color for each grade. 1st years are red, 2nd yellow, 3rd blue. Our school crest is also made up of those colors. So are the uniforms on the Enterprise.

So today was the anaversery of the school. In "celebration" all of the students formed the Crest of the school. To do that, we stood around while the school officers and teachers directed us on where to stand. Then, we would run back to through the crowds and stand with our class. After that, we would run back to form the shape of the crest. We did this for a bit, and then people showed up and watched our final preformance. We ran into place, sat down, bent over so that our backs were showing, and the snapped a picture. Then, we ran back to our previeous grouped formation and stood around for a while. After a lot of boring speeches, the 3rd years were given balloons. They held them up in the air and relesed them on cue. It was beautiful. The ballons floated gently up into the air and were slowly swept away. Then we did more running around until it was time for lunch. Happy Birthday School! Thank you everyone for all of your love and support!

Zai Jian!

Um.. so, yeah.

Not much exciting has happened lately. I have been riding on a lot of trains lately. I find it quite enjoyable, the people watching and landscape out the window. I've had to go to Changhua most recently. I needed more fabric. There isn't a fabric store in Yuanlin, but the ride to Changhua is only about $1 U.S.D. The other day I had p.e. with some of the first years. It was interesting. We played volleyball for a bit, then I taught one of my friends a bit of soccer. I've been haveing a good, calm time. Thank you for everything. Your love and support mean the world.

Zai Jian!

Sewing

My current school life is mostly made up of sewing and other craftiness. Plus chinese. I have 7 hours of sewing classes a week, and 2 dresses I want to make by July. My crocheting/knitting class has moved on to quilting. Everyone is going to make a quilted bag. I decided to design the pattern for mine, and I start cutting my fabric on Thur. In handicraft class we are croceting, so I need to figure out a project. Any ideas?
I moved back to my first host family last Sunday. It is going well and I'm back to my old rutine (which is pretty much the same as my old rutine). The weather is hot again, so it is nice to be back to a house where I know how to work the air conditioning.
Thanks for all your love and support!

Zai Jian!

Penghu

This last weekend, Friday-Sunday, I went to Penghu with my district and 2 others. Lots of exchange students and lots of fun. Penghu is a small group of islands in the Taiwan strait. We went fishing in the ocean (caught 2 small red fish), fishing in a squid "tank", swimming, and haveing a great time. Squid fishing was interesting. You attatch a fish head to a line and toss it in. Then, the squid grabs it in it's tentecals and you reel it in. When they come to the surface they squirt water everywhere. It is a tone of fun, but after a while the squids get quite tired. It was fun to hang out with the other exchange students and be on a beach for the second time since moving to an island. I met a lot of great students and I can't wait untill the end of the month. We have a country wide confrence and all the students will be there. Liz is asking every week, so my expected return date is 7/11. Love you all! Thanks for your help!

Zai Jian!

If you give a classmate a puppet...

...They will want more. We have to put a short play on for the kindergarteners. Now, my group decided to use puppets instead of real people. They told me to make my own, so I did. It turned out pretty cool, especialy since it only took three hours. I showed it to my classmates, and then they asked me to help them make more. I managed to make the heads for the four more of them in an hour. Hopefully it all turns out well. Luckily my sewing skills are good, and I've seen a few wonderfly made puppets (thanks Mom!). Everything else is going well. I love you all and thanks for the support.

Zai Jian!

John, it is really wierd what things aren't here, like skunks. I haven't smelled a skunk in a while, not that I'm complaining. No dandelions float through blue air here. It is different, but good.

Hair Cut

I just got back from getting my hair cut. I would like to walk you through the steps of getting your hair cut in Taiwan.

Step 1: Enter shop with host mom and quickly explain your Chinese level. Also say what you want them to do to your hair.

Step 2: Go into the back and get your hair washed.

Step 3: Have a question asked to you. Say yes.

Step 4: Get your head massaged. For 5 minutes.

Step 5: Rinse hair. Add more stuffs.

Step 5: Have stuffs added thuroughly to hair and then asked another question. This one seems to have the word water in it, so you say okay.

Step 6: More head massaging.

Step 7: Repeat steps 5-6.

Step 8: Go back to the front to get hair cut.

Step 9: Be very nerves as some women you don't know cuts your hair while talking to a man selling hair brushes.

Step 10: Finish hair cut.

Step 11: Dry hair.

Step 12: Feel a bit like a doll, but overall not a bad hair cut.

Step 13: Walk home while singing nerdy songs.

And that is how it is done.


Oh, and John, one question:

Do fish take baths often?

Love you all!!!!!

Zai Jian!

Japan, and what that means for Taiwan

Everyone from the U.S. warned me about the earthquake long before I even knew it happened. Thank you all for your quick respons. I didn't feel a thing, and there is little danger here. The waves on the east side of the island were reported to be a bit bigger, but no damage was done. Even if there is a nueclear meltdown, Taiwan is far enough away. Don't worry too much! I am just fine. I am very happy with my host family. I met my host brothers the other day. They are both in their 30's and married. They are very nice and fun. I hope to see them some more. Thank you for all of your love and support!

Zai Jian!

New family

I just got a new family, and it is great. I will stay for a month before I head back to my first family. I like this family a lot. They have two sons, but they are both in their 30's and have moved out a while ago. I will be meeting them tonight, so that should be fun. I have been seeing a lot of other white people lately. By a lot, I mean 4 in the last 5 days. One was a tutor that only comes to my school every once in a while. 2 I just passed on the road while I was bicking. The other I met last Sat. He is a new teacher in a near by middle school. He has only been in Taiwan for 3 months. It was nice to meet someone new to Taiwan. The only bad part of my last week was the destruction of my mp3 player. The first car didn't hit it, but the second one was not so kind. Suprisingly, it didn't shatter. The screen cracked, but it dosn't work at all. O well. I'll live without it. Thanks for everything!

Zai Jian!

March

It is a new month, and on Wed. I get a new host family. I'll stay with them for a month before going back to the first host family. It should be an interesting month.
I just got back from a three day weekend. It was nice. I spent Fri-Sun at a friend's house in Changhua. Mon, I did a bit of shopping and stayed home. It was a good day back. I had five hours of sewing class. Three were spent learning how to draw a pattern for a skirt, but the other two I got to use for actual sewing purposes. I finished up a small doll sized practice dress, that the whole class had to make, and I started drawing the pattern for a new dress I'm making. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the dress finished. Thanks for all your love and support!

Zai Jian!

P.S.

Do I bring back gifts for people? I missed a lot of birthdays and Christmas, but I'm not sure what the situation is. Please put some input in the comments, I would really appreciate it. Also, it isn't greedy to say it is okay for me to give gifts, it is just honest.

Wednesdays

I just got back from school today. I forgot to post yesterday, but I think I'm still okay because of the time difference. I like Wed. because I have cooking class and guitar club. In cooking today, we made dumplings. They were really good, and they made a perfect lunch. Guitar club was good. We have a new teacher, and he is very good. One of the girls from another class I'm i n joined guitar club, so now I know another person in the club. Nothing very exciting has come up recently, so this post is very short. Thanks for all of your support and love!

Zai Jian!

School

I had my second day back at school today. It was fun. It is great to see my friends again. I like my classes, and working in the kindergarten is a blast. Today I battled 6 kindergarteners is an epic war. I ended up dying a few times, and of course the kids won. It was fun, and it helped the rowdy kids release a lot of energy. I also had sewing class today. We are making miniaures of a dress design, and then we will sew them full size. It should be fun. My final, non self-study, class was P.E. We played badmiton today. My P.E. class is with the English majors, so I get asked lots of questions. Today one of the girls asked if the the high school in the movie Mean Girls was how all American high schools are. I said no, and I was wondering if anyone knew any movies that were acurate. Thanks for all of your love and support!

Zai Jian!

Pictures!

These are most of the pictures I took so far. My host family went to Taidong. It is on the other side of the island, so the car ride around the lower tip was quite long. It is weird to think of this place as an island. It was the first time I saw the ocean since my plane landed, I wish I could have stayed longer. The other pictures are from a dinner with my host dad's family (The trip to Taidong was my host mom's family). The Jeeps are included because we rode around the sand dunes in them. We had a profesional driver, and it felt a lot like what I imagine those poor people in Josh's racing games must feel like. It was fun, wild, and exciting, and I would definitley do it again. Love you! Thanks for everything!

Zai Jian!

Rabbit Rabbit (everywhere)

It is the day before Chinese New Year. Tomorow will be the first day in the Year of the rabbit. This means that for the past month rabbits have been popping up everywhere. They are in decorations, on T.V., on clothing, and probably a few plates. It is impossible to go outside without seeing some version of a rabbit somewhere. Today I got to see a rabbit made out of flowers in front of the local train station. I have yet to see a live rabbit, but I haven't seen any being eaten either. I changed host families and I am now back with my first family for a month. Everything is going well. Thank you for all of your love and support! Love you!

Zai Jian!

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

It has been a great first four days of vacation, and almost every day has been full. Friday was mostly full of sleeping, but that was very good. Saturday I had to go to a short Rotary thing. It turns out that we have to model a countrie's clothes. So this was the 'learning how to walk down a runway' day. Two of the other exchange students actualy are models, so we had some experienced teachers. It was not very exciting or pleasesnt, but I survived. After that, everyone went to Chilies and ate massive bacon burgers. That was quite enjoyable. On Sunday, my Rotary club had a lantern painting thing. It was fun, and I got to paint my own lantern. I don't know if I'll get it, but I did get a few pictures. I am going to Taipei tomorow, so I won't have time to make a post. Thank you for all of your love and support!

Zai Jian!

Vacation!

It is the final countdown until winter vacation! Only two more days of school until three weeks of getting up after seven. I am not sure what exactly I am doing, but it should be fun! The last two days, and the next two days, everyone in school is taking the final tests for this semester. Since I don't have any tests, I help out in the kindergarten during morning classes, and recover/study after lunch. School gets out an hour early because of the tests, so I get to go home at 4 o'clock. School in Taiwan doesn't normally get out until 5, that took some getting used to. The kids in the classes I help out in are great. They don't speak any English, so I am forced to only speak and hear Chinese. Their very nice, and often a bit crazier then I would like. Yesterday during recess, I played with two boys. All of the teachers are girls, and not much for wrestling. On Saturday I went to a gym with my host parents, and I lifted some weights. Wrestling for a bit did not help out my sore arms. I don't think I will every be able to lift a water bottle again. Life has been good, and I really like my host family. The rally was interesting, and it was definatly from Placer. It was weird to have the camera on the different side of the gym. I love you all, and thank you for everything. I still haven't found my stamps, sorry.

Zai Jian!

Oops.

So I'm a few days late on the post, sorry. My new family is awsome. They are very nice, and very helpful. Every problem I have, they seem to have a solution. I only have one more week of school until a three week vacation. These will be the first vacation days of the school year. I have no clue what I will be doing, but I imagine lots of Rotary and family activities. i finaly watched the video from Liz, it was wonderful. I tried to e-mail Mr.Schroder, but it didn't work. Could someone tell him about the blog, I would like to keep in touch with him a little. I am having a wonderful time, and I can't belive how long I've been here. I got th e-mail about figuring out my return date the other day. I don't need to figure that out for a while, but I already told my Rotary club here in Taiwan. Thanks for all of your love and support. It means the world to me that you want to keep up to date on my happenings. I love you!

Zai Jian!

Also, I can't find my stamps, so it might be a bit before I get any mail sent out.

2011!

This last weekend was crazy. The New Year's party was in Taipei. All of the students crowded onto two buses in Taizhong, which is about an hour from my house. Then, we took the 3 hour drive to Taipei. We got to Taipei at around five in the evening. We went off in small groups around the city for a little bit, and then we came back for dinner. There was a McDonalds right by where we parked, so we all ate there. Then, we waited for six hours until midnight. This time was spent by most of the exchange students hanging out with some of the other exchange students from Taipei. It was fun, but a few of us less party going types went to a nerby mall that had a twenty four hour book store. I have already finished reading "The Lost Symbol". When it was finaly time for the fireworks, we crowded onto a gazebo in the middle of a pond and wathed the five minute long firworks display at Taipei 101. After the first thirty seconds, smoke had obscured the details of the fireworks, but it was still a spectacular show. Then, when I got back to Taizhong (at 4 the next morning and having not slept at all), it was time for the hour long drive home. I stayed at my first home stay for two nights before going to live with my second homestay. On Sunday, I went with my second homestay to a potary place in the mountans, then we went to a mushroom growin factory. There, we ate mushrooms. They tasted good at the time, but not so good an hour later when we exited the car for dinner. We went to an Italian resteraunt, but I couldn't eat anything. Just looking at the food made me feel like running to the bathroom, wich I ended up doing. I stayed home from school on Monday, but I went to school today. I am 100% now, so don't worry. I really like my new homestay, and the shower in my bathroom (that's right, MY bathroom) is amazing. I got my presents for the Latham's and Liz, thank you so much! Good job Shayna on the craftsmanship!

Zai Jian!