The past few weeks have been super fun, meeting a lot of new people and doing a bunch of sight-seeing. Last Tuesday was really busy. We started out the day with I-House Orientation, basically having the ground rules reinforced. A bunch of us exchange students then went to Taipei Zoo and saw the animals and got to know each other. Later that day, we decided to go to a hot spring near Beitou; because I don't know the Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion off the top of my head, I ended up in the hottest pool of 45 degrees Celsius (I later realized that was 113 degrees Fahrenheit). Funny thing is, I kind of went numb during the 5 minutes that I was in that pool so it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Still, the hot spring was sooo relaxing and just what I needed after a long day of walking around. After the hot spring, we all went to a small pub called Roxy where we pretty much had their downstairs room to ourselves. I enjoyed a delicious fruit tea while we all danced, belted out Oasis' Wonderwall, and played foosball. Tons of fun :]
Group picture at Taipei Zoo!
Of course we had to see the panda bears :]
Haha I thought this was cute: this zebra had wandered from his area and into this one. So cute.
On Wednesday, we spent the majority of the day at International Student Orientation. It was alright but it felt like forever. The nice part was our tour of campus and having my first bubble tea (apparently Taiwan is famous for it and now I see why). After orientation, we all relaxed for a little while and then a bunch of us went to Ladies Night at one of the local dance clubs. It was quite fun seeing that the majority of the people there were exchange students.
Thursday, I again went to the Shi-Lin night market, this time, with a huge group of exchange students. Although the thirty of us tried our best to stay together on the way there, we ended up separating into groups as soon as we got there haha. The food was interesting, as night market food tends to be, but it was fun just walking around and taking it all in.
The new downstairs eating area at Shi-Lin Night Market.
Yep, those are sausages, and yes, they were ginormous.
Friday, we went to go do KTV (karaoke). We had heard that it's a famous pasttime of the Taiwanese people and we wanted to try it. The first group (the one I went with) was in a small, private room where we had our own TV and karaoke machine. We also had access to a buffet of different finger foods and snacks. A bigger group came later and they were in a larger room down the hall. Still, it was really fun belting out classic karaoke songs and listening to some friends sing Chinese and Taiwanese songs as well.
Singing "Barbie Girl"; Sarah and I, being the only Americans in our group, coincidentally sand the Barbie parts while everyone else sang the Ken ones lol.
Everyone singing "I Believe I Can Fly" :] Saturday, we went by Taipei 101 and had a light lunch. Some of them went to this cafe named, Drizzle, while the rest of us walked around the shopping district and saw Taipei City Hall.
Yeah, they were sitting there praying from the time we got there to the time we left. Interesting...
Sunday, I went to church. As some of you know, it was quite an adventure getting there. I first took the bus to the MRT station. I got off a few stops later and I actually found the church on the map at the station. Before I left, I had asked the reception desk to write down the address to the church in Chinese for me to give to the taxi driver. Upon leaving the station, I gave the taxi driver the address but he stopped a few minutes later because he didn't know where to go. I then had to walk back into the station where I found this nice boy around Jeremy's age. He didn't understand me when I asked him to write down the intersection near the church, so he instead accompanied me to the Information Desk where he translated what the operator was saying. Just as I was prepared to walk to church which was to start in about 10 minutes (in super cute heels, mind you) I saw an Elder. Words cannot express the relief I felt upon seeing him. He and his companion then eagerly got me into a taxi where they told the driver exactly where to go and a few minutes later, we arrived at the church building. To my surprise, the Taipei Temple was right next door! Anyway, I met some other exchange students from Utah in addition to other YSAs and the ward was so warm and friendly. After church, I grabbed a late lunch with my other buddy, Yu-Hsuan. She is so sweet and was actually an exchange student in Ireland last year!
Yesterday was the first day of classes for most people; since the part-time Mandarin class doesn't start until March, my classes didn't start until today. Even though I only attended two classes that were two hours each, it was still exhausting! Hopefully I get used to this "going to and sitting in class" thing before things really pick up. If all goes well, I'll be taking Mandarin on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, Journey to the World of Chinese Opera, Art in Taiwan, Elections and Democratization in Taiwan, Land Use and Development, and American Sports History. Although the courses themselves don't seem terribly difficult on their own, all of them together are getting to sound overwheming. I guess we'll just have to see and find out.
We don't have classes on Monday and Tuesday so it looks like a 5 day weekend for me! I'm thinking about taking a trip somewhere with some other students so I'll keep you all posted :]
So over the past few days, I've really come to gain a testimony that there is a plan for each of our lives and that every decision you make can play a role in determining that path.
For instance, I really didn't realize how troubling it would be for me to not understand what the majority of people are speaking and not having the ability to read a simple map. I'd already developed insecurities in communicating with people and performing simple tasks that I normally wouldn't have to think twice about. That being said, many of the other exchange students who are studying at NCCU and those I have come to know speak French as their primary language. Had I not chosen to take French the past three semesters for my degree, my anxiety would probably be overwhelming after feeling like I had two languages that I would have felt incompetent with. While my French is nowhere near the level that my newfound friends are speaking, I find comfort in understanding bits and phrases of the conversations occurring around me.
On Friday, I finally mustered up the courage to introduce myself to a group of girls talking with one another in the common area. It turns out that they had only met each other just days and hours before as well. We all went to see Taipei 101 together... and we got lost. We took the bus in the wrong direction and had to find a way back to the other side of town. After several bus transfers, we ended up on a super crowded bus and ended up securing seats after a few stops. A few minutes into our journey, two of the girls I was with offered their seats to an older couple who had gotten on the bus and were standing up. The couple refused, but, noticing that they were speaking English, asked them what they were doing in Taiwan. They explained that they were exchange students at NCCU and the four of them talked for a few minutes. The wife then asked them if they would be free that night to come over to their house and eat a traditional Taiwanese meal. At this point, my friends explained that there were four of us, and the couple became even more excited. We accepted their invitation and the wife gave us her phone number and address. We parted ways and promised to see each other soon. After discussing the that possibility of being kidnapped, while possible, was worth the risk, we took a taxi to the address we were given. When we got there, we saw that they had invited other family and friends; at one point, there were 15 people in their living room and the food was delicious! Anyway, the wife later explained that since her sons were all grown, she and her husband get lonely and now she feels like she has 4 new daughters :]. She also explained that the two of them traveled all over the world and since they had always been received so graciously in the countries they visited, they wanted to pay it forward and extend that same hospitality to those who are visiting Taipei. She's now invited us to come with her to a hotspring and other fun activites in Taipei. Case in point, because of the numerous turn of the events that got me on that crowded bus, I may have never met a woman who needed us just as much as we needed her.
Every time I stop and think about each day's events, I am filled with gratitude and peace in knowing that I am where I'm supposed to be right now. From meeting my wonderful new friends from around the world to learning more about the beautiful Taiwanese culture to finding opportunites to share the gospel to my new friends, I am in often left in awe when I realize how much the Lord had prepared me for this experience.
Next time, I'll share pictures and summaries from our outings to Taipei Zoo, one of the Beitou hot springs and Shi-Lin Night Market. For now, it's off to a night of dancing after a long day at orientation! :]
Because orientation doesn't start until Tuesday, I've spent the majority of the past few days exploring the places to eat and shop nearby. It has really started to hit me all that I have to adjust to.
Language: I never realized how disorienting it is to not understand; see, although my parents taught us to speak Tagalog at home when we were younger, I learned enough English through books and TV that by the time school started, I didn't need to enroll in ESL. But here, while there are a few places that have menus with English descriptions and workers that speak English, it still makes me wish that I could understand what the storefronts or signs actually meant. The fact that I don't understand also hinders me in that I'm afraid to use the bus/metro systems because I don't want to end up lost with no way to get back. Now I really can't wait for my Mandarin class to start because maybe I'll learn to decipher this now completely foreign language.
Jetlag: Yes, I know this happens to everyone, especially when you travel to the other side of the world, but still, it's a struggle to keep my eyes open past 8 PM. It makes me glad that I arrived here a little early so that I can hopefully sleep normally by the time classes start in a week and a half.
Eating: And not just the food itself, which, based on my experience these past few days, is delicioussssssss, but here in the I-House, we don't have a kitchen to cook food in. Instead, we (and many other people) eat out for every single meal. However, the amount that I spend for one meal is nothing compared to a meal back home; on average, I've spent about $90 NTD per meal. That calculates to less than $3 USD! Plus, the food is super yummy and filling, unlike a $6 meal at McDonalds! The thing is, the food places are only open during breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner hours. So if you just so happen to wake up at 10 AM because you couldn't fall asleep til 3, well you're out of luck because you'll either have to eat a pastry at Starbucks or wait until 11 for them to start serving lunch.
Shopping: Here, they don't really have full out grocery stores or stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Instead, they have stores like Watson's or CosMed which reminds me of Walgreens and CVS where you can get toiletries, cosmetics, snacks, pharmaceutical needs, and other random stuff you didn't think you'd need. And then you have stores that have the other random stuff you also didn't think you'd need, such as hangers, dishes, stationery, scrapbooking supplies, bedding, etc. Then there are 7-11s (yes, those 7-11s) except the ones here are actually pretty nice and serve hot food. There's also grocery stores, but not nearly as big as Jewel or Dominick's or even the grocery section of Wal-Mart. I haven't had the chance to see where they go clothes shopping, but I'm sure I will soon :]
Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here.
It has rained, well more like drizzled, every day so far, and the forecast does not indicate otherwise anytime soon.
I don't have a TV here, and while this may not be a big deal to some, I didn't realize how much I depended on my shows to help ward off boredom. Hopefully once the semester actually starts I'll have less downtime because of classes and (hopefully) traveling around Taipei and Taiwan as a whole.
Not having a cell phone (yet). There are times that I still reach for my phone because I think it's ringing or vibrating (it's not). I'm still debating whether to get one to use while I'm here for communicating with friends in Taiwan, but I'll decide after orientation next week and after talking to the other international students. For now, I'm mostly depending on FB chat and Skype to communicate with friends and family back home.
Anyway, this weekend I hope to get to the bank and to church. Thanks to the wonderful I-House desk workers, I think I'll actually make it without getting too terribly lost. One can hope!
A beautifully wrapped box of candies and cookies from Bekah's mom.
Pork don from a Japanese-style restaurant. Soo yummy.
Pork dumplings from a restaurant I found today for lunch.
Just to warn you... this is going to be a long post...
I began my last weekend home with (1) fitting my life into two suitcases and a duffel bag, and (2) dinner at Giordano's in downtown Chicago and pictures in Millennium Park with friends. In true Chicago-style, we had a stuffed pizza with sausage and pepperoni and were greeted by a parking ticket :]. Yes, yes we felt like tourists taking pictures at Millennium Park at the Bean but we really didn't care. Oh and after a semi-classy dinner, we decided to go to a 24-hour WalMart in Addison, just because we could. :] *Note: The fact that I was leaving has barely started to hit me at this point*
Saturday, I had dinner with my family at Nagoya in Naperville (complete with lobster and crab legs) and it was absolutely de-lish. Because Josh was leaving for school Sunday afternoon, this was our last family dinner. Of course, we spent the majority of the meal making fun of each other and laughing and it was wonderful.
Sunday, we went to church and I joined the YW/YM during the first two blocks, where I got to spend time with my brothers, Karla and the other youth. Sacrament and Testimony meeting reaffirmed why I love my ward family and the gospel as a whole. While yes, I'll miss attending with my family or at my ward in Normal, I know that the gospel is true and strong no matter where I am in the world. *Note: I was checking my flight status online where the O'Hare website said that my flight was already 1 1/2 hours delayed. This was veryyy bad for me because my layover in Tokyo only lasted 1 hour 25 minutes and thus, I had a minor panic attack because I was afraid of getting stranded at either Tokyo or Taipei with no idea where to go. After frantically calling Travelocity and trying to book an earlier flight, we decided to get to the airport around 8 AM and try to rebook there if my flight indeed was delayed. Thankfully, it was not and my flight left on time for the most part.* That evening, after dropping Josh off at O'Hare, my BFF KFoley treated me to Steak and Shake where we had burgers and yummy shakes. Gosh I miss American food already! After a tearful "see you later" my mom helped me finish packing and making sure I stayed under the 50 pound limit. Monday morning, I took Jeremy to school and my parents took me out to breakfast. We arrived at the airport and checked in and then said our good-byes. This was probably my hardest goodbye because my parents have been soo incredibly supportive of my studies and were very comforting whenever I had anxieties about leaving.
The flights were pretty smooth, very long but fine nonetheless. I was able to watch the first half of the Footloose remake, the last half of The Big Year, some House, HIMYM, and the Big Bang Theory, Real Steel and half of One Day. In between movies and shows, I slept. The meals were actually pretty decent; although I wasn't feeling well and therefore didn't eat much, what I did eat wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. After arriving about 20 mins late in Tokyo, I had to make the tight connection to my next flight which basically consisted of me power walking through the terminal. (I would say sprint but that would be an overstatement seeing as how I was carrying a 30 pound duffel bag...). I did make the connection with some time to spare and ended up spending the majority of the 4 hour flight alternating between napping and flipping through the TV channels. I arrived in Taipei at around 8:50 PM local time and rushed to customs and baggage claim as not to keep my driver waiting. Of course my bags were some of the last to come out and I ended up passing customs at approximately 9:20, but all was well because my driver was there with my name on a piece of paper like you see in the movies (yes, I felt sooo cool :]). The drive from Taipei Taoyuan Airport to I-House was about 45 minutes where I was greeted by some very friendly people at the desk. I was checked in and escorted to my room (pics below). Because I couldn't sleep, I started unpacking some things and ended up Skyping with my parents. This morning, I woke up at around 8 and got dressed to go eat because I was STARVING! I had my first breakfast downstairs at the I-House Cafe where I had a "French Breakfast" complete with eggs, a hash brown, French toast and some sort of burger meat. Yum! I came back to my room and unpacked the rest of my belongings and am now waiting to meet one of my two NCCU buddies, Bekah!
Last group dinner with friends at Giordano's
Strolling Millennium Park.
Yummy stuffed pizza!
Last dinner with Krista at Steak and Shake... typical American food :]
My version of packing; I thought I was doing well until...
I realized I still needed to fit all of THIS into my suitcases... Somehow my mom got it all to fit :]
First breakfast at NCCU!
"French Breakfast"; it tasted sooo much better than it looks on camera.
View of my room from the front door.
My bathroom.
Shower.
My rock-hard bed... at least it looks cute!
Shelves/fridge.
Entire wall.
View from my balcony (yes, I HAVE A BALCONY!!)
Pretty garden area in the courtyard.
One of my NCCU buddies, Bekah!
At this time, I would just like to thank a few people who have really helped make this experience a reality: my Heavenly Father who has given me this opportunity to grow spiritually and share the gospel to those I encounter, my parents, who have and continue to support and encourage me to pursue my dreams and ambitions, my brothers who are also soo supportive and continue to pick on me 7500 miles away *cough JEREMY cough*, my very best friends who continue to make me smile on the other side of the world and who give me "safety tips" on how not to die while I'm out here, my ward families in both Westchester and Normal who have given me the reassurance of the truthfulness and power of the gospel no matter where you are, and my contacts and buddies at ISU and NCCU who have made the transition here very smooth and comfortable.
Now that I'm here, posts will definitely be more frequent and include tons of pictures, I promise! :]
