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!