Tidbits from Taiwan
Thursday, September 29, 2005
ShuFa and Penghu
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Thursday, Sep 29, 2005
3rd Floor, Host House
Wow, looks like its been 9 days since the last post. Whoops. I hope you all like the new blog layout, pictures will be updated on the right hand side with new ones at the top. Thanks to...Anonymous. Heh.
Friday of last week started the first Rotary Youth Exchange outing of the year. I got up a little later than for school and was picked up by Spencer, Tonia and Elisa, and brought to the airport. There we met up with all the other exchange students from the entire district (about 25). The group comprises up several Mexicans, Germans, Americans (+Canada), Japanese, Brazilians, along with the Colombian girl, Liz. Its a great group really, fanastic fun.
We all piled on the small plane and flew for an hour to the popular island of Penghu. The water appeared fantastic and green coming in on the plane, and later we were able to swim in it. After dropping our luggage off in our rooms (four people in rooms with two beds) we had a good dinner made up of thin noodles, shrimp, bottled tea, and oranges for desert. Little did we know that we would have almost that exact same meal about 3 more times in three days. It was good though.
By day we participated in several activities including exploring the region and local attractions (temples, food, shops and this really old well), and looking at fish. We went on a boat out to a floating restaurant where we were taken on another short trip to catch some of our food to eat. They hoisted out their oyster/clam catches, still "alive" and popped them open for us to eat. I don't know the next time I am going to be able to have that fresh of oysters, seriously. We headed back to the floating restaurant where they gave us fishing poles baited and ready to stick in a pool full of very large shark looking fish. It was not easy to get those guys to bite, let alone stay on the line. We, the exchangers, ended up getting so frustrated that we eventually ditched the poles and tried to catch them with our hands (luring them in with bread which they liked) when they passed by the edge of the water. No one was successful though. You would think with 2 hours, fishing poles, bait, and 25 exchangers gathered around an inclosed pool, we could have caught something, but no.
We also went to an aquarium, home of many cool looking fishiiies. There were humongous stingray, crab guys, fish that looked like they were singers, and glowsticking fish (see pictures).
At night we all got together and went out to the beach or stayed in one person's room, talked, listened to music and had fun. It was some serious fun and very relaxing. The last day we travelled by bus and boat to get to a great beach where we snorkled, and rode a ski-doo and this giant hot dog inflated looking raft (seats 8 people). Great fun.
This week at school, I arranged with the school so I can practice piano in the music room every Tuesday and Thursday (I don't have much time for it at home) for 30-45 minutes (depending on how fast I eat my lunch) while every else has nap time, which they need since they go to bed at 12:00 or later, and wake up at 5~6 EVERY week day. I am thinking about making it every day, I am beginning to enjoy it more again, its nice. Today as I was practicing, some girls not taking a nap were outside, and when they heard me they piled in and sat on the seats in front of me listening. And they clapped and laughed and stuff when I finished. That was cool. Goodness they are nice.
Oh yea, my teacher, after I told her I wanted to learn "Shu- Fa\", calligraphy, is now teaching me two hours every day during school how to write calligraphy (ya know, brush and ink and stuff). Its fantastic, I love it. She said its supposed to put your heart at peace and give you patience. Seriously, it takes like 5 seconds to make one stroke of a character (even for her).
So I was walking to school in the rain and my classmates ran up to me insisting I get under the umbrella but I really didn't want to as I like the rain and walking in it. After some questions as to WHY they wanted me under the umbrella so badly, I got back a rough answer, "If you walk in rain, you no hair"... That got me curious (and got my under the umbrella). As it turns out, since Taipei is one of the most polluted cities in the world, the rain is so...acidic or poisonous or something, that if it gets in your hair alot, your hair falls out and you go bald. Yup! (Which puts a damper on the possibility of romantic love scenes in the rain, from the movies in taipei)
I am practicing basketball now almost everyday instead of baseball since I don't do much in baseball besides throw and catch with Gaston. I really have to work on my shot.
My Chinese, I think, is always improving. I am definitely able to converse more with students. I know many characters now also. I read everything I can on the MRT, bus, train and walking around Taipei.
Till next week.
3rd Floor, Host House
Wow, looks like its been 9 days since the last post. Whoops. I hope you all like the new blog layout, pictures will be updated on the right hand side with new ones at the top. Thanks to...Anonymous. Heh.
Friday of last week started the first Rotary Youth Exchange outing of the year. I got up a little later than for school and was picked up by Spencer, Tonia and Elisa, and brought to the airport. There we met up with all the other exchange students from the entire district (about 25). The group comprises up several Mexicans, Germans, Americans (+Canada), Japanese, Brazilians, along with the Colombian girl, Liz. Its a great group really, fanastic fun.
We all piled on the small plane and flew for an hour to the popular island of Penghu. The water appeared fantastic and green coming in on the plane, and later we were able to swim in it. After dropping our luggage off in our rooms (four people in rooms with two beds) we had a good dinner made up of thin noodles, shrimp, bottled tea, and oranges for desert. Little did we know that we would have almost that exact same meal about 3 more times in three days. It was good though.
By day we participated in several activities including exploring the region and local attractions (temples, food, shops and this really old well), and looking at fish. We went on a boat out to a floating restaurant where we were taken on another short trip to catch some of our food to eat. They hoisted out their oyster/clam catches, still "alive" and popped them open for us to eat. I don't know the next time I am going to be able to have that fresh of oysters, seriously. We headed back to the floating restaurant where they gave us fishing poles baited and ready to stick in a pool full of very large shark looking fish. It was not easy to get those guys to bite, let alone stay on the line. We, the exchangers, ended up getting so frustrated that we eventually ditched the poles and tried to catch them with our hands (luring them in with bread which they liked) when they passed by the edge of the water. No one was successful though. You would think with 2 hours, fishing poles, bait, and 25 exchangers gathered around an inclosed pool, we could have caught something, but no.
We also went to an aquarium, home of many cool looking fishiiies. There were humongous stingray, crab guys, fish that looked like they were singers, and glowsticking fish (see pictures).
At night we all got together and went out to the beach or stayed in one person's room, talked, listened to music and had fun. It was some serious fun and very relaxing. The last day we travelled by bus and boat to get to a great beach where we snorkled, and rode a ski-doo and this giant hot dog inflated looking raft (seats 8 people). Great fun.
This week at school, I arranged with the school so I can practice piano in the music room every Tuesday and Thursday (I don't have much time for it at home) for 30-45 minutes (depending on how fast I eat my lunch) while every else has nap time, which they need since they go to bed at 12:00 or later, and wake up at 5~6 EVERY week day. I am thinking about making it every day, I am beginning to enjoy it more again, its nice. Today as I was practicing, some girls not taking a nap were outside, and when they heard me they piled in and sat on the seats in front of me listening. And they clapped and laughed and stuff when I finished. That was cool. Goodness they are nice.
Oh yea, my teacher, after I told her I wanted to learn "Shu- Fa\", calligraphy, is now teaching me two hours every day during school how to write calligraphy (ya know, brush and ink and stuff). Its fantastic, I love it. She said its supposed to put your heart at peace and give you patience. Seriously, it takes like 5 seconds to make one stroke of a character (even for her).
So I was walking to school in the rain and my classmates ran up to me insisting I get under the umbrella but I really didn't want to as I like the rain and walking in it. After some questions as to WHY they wanted me under the umbrella so badly, I got back a rough answer, "If you walk in rain, you no hair"... That got me curious (and got my under the umbrella). As it turns out, since Taipei is one of the most polluted cities in the world, the rain is so...acidic or poisonous or something, that if it gets in your hair alot, your hair falls out and you go bald. Yup! (Which puts a damper on the possibility of romantic love scenes in the rain, from the movies in taipei)
I am practicing basketball now almost everyday instead of baseball since I don't do much in baseball besides throw and catch with Gaston. I really have to work on my shot.
My Chinese, I think, is always improving. I am definitely able to converse more with students. I know many characters now also. I read everything I can on the MRT, bus, train and walking around Taipei.
Till next week.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Fest of the Moon
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Saturday. Sept.19, 2005
9:23 PM
The administrators at the school decided that since we are probably bored in class all day (as we don't understand the classes), instead of the last two hours of the school day, we will play sports. Gaston and I play Baseball and Elisa and Liz play softball, and we do this now this whole month from 2:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon.
The guys on the team are crazy good, and of course very friendly. I am not sure I would be able to join a top-notch baseball team (or really any sport) back in the US without getting a *hard time* from the players on the team, since I have never played baseball (kinda). Here, though, they are completely friendly and accepting, which is awesome. I seriously have to work on my throwing aim. There have been several near misses between the ball and people's head because of it.
School is mostly the same everyday now, so I won't go on describing it much more, but basically I listen sometimes and sleep at other times. Most of the time, however, I sit listening to whatever music or audio book while studying either my chinese book all day (mon, wed, fri) or studying for taking yet another SAT test for college (tues, thur).
I was pretty sick on Thursday, really soar, weak and tired. My stomach felt a little strange at times also, so I figure its something I ate. I stayed home friday sleeping and watching tv all day.
Saturday night was nice, me and a couple other guys, along with the Canadian girl, went to Ximen again and just hung out and went to the arcade. They have all kinds of crazy games there, I mean, wow. They have a game where you fight fires, a game where you ride a horse, punching contest thing, drumming set, dance revolution (also using your hands in the air, something Microsoft still has in testing, and here is already old), and other cool stuff.
Sunday was the Moon festival, not quite sure what that is, other than celebrating the moon. All month everyone has been eating moon cakes (really sweet ~2'' diameter round cakes with dried egg yoke in the middle, sometimes with nuts). Elisa, Tonia and I went with some of Tonia's friends from Dong Fang down near Ximen, underneath a highway and had a fantastic barbeque. For around, say 4 hours we all sat around a mini-grill and continuously grilled things like squid, pork, other meats, and shrimp-like-things that had been alive just 2 minutes earlier. There was Karaoke, games, some gambling looking stuff, and fireworks all underneath this small stretch of raised highway. The shrimp game was cool (though I never did catch one). You get a wood stick with a string and metal hooked tied to it, then you put it in the tub of water and shrimp, and try to hook one without it cutting the line (very very hard, believe me). If you hooked one and successfully put it in another bucket of water, then the lady grabbed the shrimp stuck a stake through it right there and then, and handed it over like a lollipop, ready to roast.
Oh yea, this was great. We were coming back from the barbeque in the MRT station when this girl (Lillian, from Germany but with perfect english) ran up to me and excitedly (after having seen my Westtown Boarding School shirt, my brother's) if I had gone to Westtown school. We talked with her and her two friends for a couple minutes before having to rush home almost late, but she told me about a Temple/hut (or something) atop a mountain about an hour away that people climb up to, to have tea...its my destiny. I think I'll go in like two weeks, and have a weekend of visiting big temples, preferably in the mountains...and drinkin' tea.
I went swimming today, not much else. Happy moon festival.
9:23 PM
The administrators at the school decided that since we are probably bored in class all day (as we don't understand the classes), instead of the last two hours of the school day, we will play sports. Gaston and I play Baseball and Elisa and Liz play softball, and we do this now this whole month from 2:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon.
The guys on the team are crazy good, and of course very friendly. I am not sure I would be able to join a top-notch baseball team (or really any sport) back in the US without getting a *hard time* from the players on the team, since I have never played baseball (kinda). Here, though, they are completely friendly and accepting, which is awesome. I seriously have to work on my throwing aim. There have been several near misses between the ball and people's head because of it.
School is mostly the same everyday now, so I won't go on describing it much more, but basically I listen sometimes and sleep at other times. Most of the time, however, I sit listening to whatever music or audio book while studying either my chinese book all day (mon, wed, fri) or studying for taking yet another SAT test for college (tues, thur).
I was pretty sick on Thursday, really soar, weak and tired. My stomach felt a little strange at times also, so I figure its something I ate. I stayed home friday sleeping and watching tv all day.
Saturday night was nice, me and a couple other guys, along with the Canadian girl, went to Ximen again and just hung out and went to the arcade. They have all kinds of crazy games there, I mean, wow. They have a game where you fight fires, a game where you ride a horse, punching contest thing, drumming set, dance revolution (also using your hands in the air, something Microsoft still has in testing, and here is already old), and other cool stuff.
Sunday was the Moon festival, not quite sure what that is, other than celebrating the moon. All month everyone has been eating moon cakes (really sweet ~2'' diameter round cakes with dried egg yoke in the middle, sometimes with nuts). Elisa, Tonia and I went with some of Tonia's friends from Dong Fang down near Ximen, underneath a highway and had a fantastic barbeque. For around, say 4 hours we all sat around a mini-grill and continuously grilled things like squid, pork, other meats, and shrimp-like-things that had been alive just 2 minutes earlier. There was Karaoke, games, some gambling looking stuff, and fireworks all underneath this small stretch of raised highway. The shrimp game was cool (though I never did catch one). You get a wood stick with a string and metal hooked tied to it, then you put it in the tub of water and shrimp, and try to hook one without it cutting the line (very very hard, believe me). If you hooked one and successfully put it in another bucket of water, then the lady grabbed the shrimp stuck a stake through it right there and then, and handed it over like a lollipop, ready to roast.
Oh yea, this was great. We were coming back from the barbeque in the MRT station when this girl (Lillian, from Germany but with perfect english) ran up to me and excitedly (after having seen my Westtown Boarding School shirt, my brother's) if I had gone to Westtown school. We talked with her and her two friends for a couple minutes before having to rush home almost late, but she told me about a Temple/hut (or something) atop a mountain about an hour away that people climb up to, to have tea...its my destiny. I think I'll go in like two weeks, and have a weekend of visiting big temples, preferably in the mountains...and drinkin' tea.
I went swimming today, not much else. Happy moon festival.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Shiou Fong - Taiwanese School
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Saturday, September 10, 2005
Its 11:00 in the morning on a Saturday and I just woke up...that felt good. School has started for me and all the exchange students. I visited the Dong Fang orientation. They have fantastic classes and interesting pictures. There is one promotional picture with a classroom full of students just like normal and the teacher up front at the desk teaching. But instead of the usual stacks of books on the front desk there is laid out a variety of wine, spirits, vodka and stuff. Its the strangest and funniest thing thing. Buts thats Dong Fang, on to my school, Shiou Fong.
First day at our school we had a small orientation they we understood non of (all in chinese). While we were sitting there we had our first little earthquake. It was barely noticable, it felt like I was being rocked gently to sleep in my chair. Pretty cool. Our school uniforms are a light blue button down shirt and dark navy blue pants. However, we have been having to wear the sports uniforms which are baby blue long pants and white/baby blue long sleeve shirt. Really hot uniform, in both ways. All the exchange students at Shiou Fong High School are in different classes but the same grade, and the school is about a thousand students. I chose Ping Pong as my club yesterday which I am not quite sure is the right choice as there is also Tae Kwon Do, Pool (as in Billiards), and a gun twirling club (yea, I know). Basketball is also extremely very popular, but I didn't choose that either.
The welcome from the students was very unexpected. I did expect to get some funny looks as a 6'1~6'2 American in chinese school uniform but not so many. All four of us (and from what I have heard those at the other schools too) were bombarded with "Can I take your picture?", "Please, may I touch your hair? It is so cool!" "Why are your eyes blue? ooooo" I got this before in China, but I thought this wouldn't happen in the far more westernized Taiwan and still ten years later. Kids of all ages were lining up to meet the "Wei guo ren", the foreigners. It hasn't really stopped either since I have been there for a week. I keep getting this looks of stunned disbelief and picture requests. Its like instant celebrity.
They are all incredibly friendly, always available for a question and they all know at least "hello" and "My name is ___, what is yours?" in english. Have you ever seen a kid twirl a pen in class around his fingers? Yea, they are all over here. Like, all of them can do it, and not just one trick that they can barely pull off, but like they have a whole closet of tricks they can do while the teacher is talking. Its crazy. They were suprised that Americans did not do the same. (I have started learning their tricks and have gotten better.) But yea, they all rock the house. Very friendly. No one I have seen has cut each other down and its like Utopia in a strict classroom.
(Link to pen twirling video: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=pen-tricks&pl=1)
Strict...heh, yea. Military officers are everywhere, and they teach some of the classes, though we stay in our homeroom most of the day, even for lunch (the cafeteria is full of an array of cool and tasty bread and water, and some juice) and the required "nap time" after lunch for 30 minutes. They inforce the rules like tardiness and uniforms. So far we have had two mass school speeches from the military officers about wearing uniforms (since a couple kids didn't). Also, in my class of 38, there were four kids that didn't wear the right uniform (they didn't wear the sports one) and so the teacher took 15 minutes to lecture them. It was different though, the kids, though they had to stand up and listen, didn't actually have to pay attention to the lecture. They had a book in their hands or were looking outside, or were studying a paper on their desk. The teacher didn't seem to mind. By the way, punishment for late homework and other stuff like swearing is to stand up from your seat (in class) and just stand for 15 minutes. It gets tiring, really. I had to do it, not for punishment, but for a class, we all had to stand at attention to the military officer (the teacher) while he told as how to stand at attention and where to put the various body parts while doing so. He was funny though and friendly. Its a wierd combination, every one is very strict (not to the exchange students though), but very very friendly and funny.
Hey, small note, I had pig stomach, ear, and tongue for the first time for dinner two nights ago. It was not bad, though it won't go to my favorites list. Also, I had a another small speech to my Rotary club, half of it in chinese. Fantastic.
So I have a schedule worked out...
I get up at 5:30 in the morning, walk 10 minutes (past a mini-shrine and incense, always nice) to the bus stop, take that for like 15 minutes to the MRT rail station which I take for like 20~25 minutes and then hop on a train that takes about another 30 minutes. I get to school at a couple minutes before 7:30, which is when it starts. So it takes about an hour and a half every day to get to school and the same to get back. Nasty, but I have time to relax some and listen to music or read or study chinese. Then I sit in class listening for lets say, 9 hours, till 4:00 PM, trying to pick up as much chinese as possible. I then head home, if not doing anything else, where I have great food (I always love dinner) and then sit down to watch the same good chinese soap opera (I almost have the opening tune memorized) with Acgong (my host-grandpa) and my host-parents while first slurping down a small frozen yogurt/milk bottle (they are soo good, and so familiar, I think I used to have them in China) and then, to tell again, having hot tea in really small cups. For some reason, now that I am here I have more willpower and can get into a schedule easier. I have been working out slightly, as much I can without equipment too handy, and I even got to run 5k a couple nights ago (I did it in about 20 minutes with not much practice recently, I guess thats were the low altitude comes in).
The exchangers get shinese lessons 3 times a week for two hours each time, during and at school (good). I just found out that there will be a chinese test after 3 months. If were don't pass it, we get sent home. I am told not to worry about it though. Hmpf. I am learning alot of chinese though. I understand alot of really basic sentences. I am also getting to practice my spanish now with the two exchange students, also at Shiou Fong, from Colombia and Mexico. I had a great time listening to some spanish music.
So Elisa and Tonia got the exchangers together to go to Ximen last night (very popular teenage destination with tons of stuff to do). We went to some stores, an arcade, and then to a multi-level bar type thing. Don't worry, we had some hot Japanese green tea, mm, so good. There we all talked for like, and hour or so. I got to meet one of the other American dudes, Sac, and we talked alot of Taiwan and stuff. Nice dude. So that was relaxing. Afterwards the girls wanted to go to the Japanese Picture booths, so we did and got lots of litte mini sticker-pictures to stick to things. Yip Yip! Oh yea, also when we first got there, there was a tv crew running around spot lighting people (all of them running away). Then they spotted our group and came up to me "Oh, you speak English? Here here, the girl would like to sing a song for you! Would you like that?" I said that would be cool, so under glaring spotlight on tv, this small chinese girl in some tv show outfit or something for a game show I guess sang me a bit of a song by Avril Lavigne. Then they asked me whether I wanted to give here a coster with a O on it. A point for the girl I guess. I did, and they ran off looking for another person. Sweet. Random stuff like things seems to like happening.
Anyways, so thats about it. This place feels very familiar. I mix between Japan and China. It seriously feels like I always lived here, just like another home. Sorry to mum and pop for not writing this for 10 days, as you can see a lot going on. But there is alot I have written here, so enjoy you two. Over and out.
Its 11:00 in the morning on a Saturday and I just woke up...that felt good. School has started for me and all the exchange students. I visited the Dong Fang orientation. They have fantastic classes and interesting pictures. There is one promotional picture with a classroom full of students just like normal and the teacher up front at the desk teaching. But instead of the usual stacks of books on the front desk there is laid out a variety of wine, spirits, vodka and stuff. Its the strangest and funniest thing thing. Buts thats Dong Fang, on to my school, Shiou Fong.
First day at our school we had a small orientation they we understood non of (all in chinese). While we were sitting there we had our first little earthquake. It was barely noticable, it felt like I was being rocked gently to sleep in my chair. Pretty cool. Our school uniforms are a light blue button down shirt and dark navy blue pants. However, we have been having to wear the sports uniforms which are baby blue long pants and white/baby blue long sleeve shirt. Really hot uniform, in both ways. All the exchange students at Shiou Fong High School are in different classes but the same grade, and the school is about a thousand students. I chose Ping Pong as my club yesterday which I am not quite sure is the right choice as there is also Tae Kwon Do, Pool (as in Billiards), and a gun twirling club (yea, I know). Basketball is also extremely very popular, but I didn't choose that either.
The welcome from the students was very unexpected. I did expect to get some funny looks as a 6'1~6'2 American in chinese school uniform but not so many. All four of us (and from what I have heard those at the other schools too) were bombarded with "Can I take your picture?", "Please, may I touch your hair? It is so cool!" "Why are your eyes blue? ooooo" I got this before in China, but I thought this wouldn't happen in the far more westernized Taiwan and still ten years later. Kids of all ages were lining up to meet the "Wei guo ren", the foreigners. It hasn't really stopped either since I have been there for a week. I keep getting this looks of stunned disbelief and picture requests. Its like instant celebrity.
They are all incredibly friendly, always available for a question and they all know at least "hello" and "My name is ___, what is yours?" in english. Have you ever seen a kid twirl a pen in class around his fingers? Yea, they are all over here. Like, all of them can do it, and not just one trick that they can barely pull off, but like they have a whole closet of tricks they can do while the teacher is talking. Its crazy. They were suprised that Americans did not do the same. (I have started learning their tricks and have gotten better.) But yea, they all rock the house. Very friendly. No one I have seen has cut each other down and its like Utopia in a strict classroom.
(Link to pen twirling video: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=pen-tricks&pl=1)
Strict...heh, yea. Military officers are everywhere, and they teach some of the classes, though we stay in our homeroom most of the day, even for lunch (the cafeteria is full of an array of cool and tasty bread and water, and some juice) and the required "nap time" after lunch for 30 minutes. They inforce the rules like tardiness and uniforms. So far we have had two mass school speeches from the military officers about wearing uniforms (since a couple kids didn't). Also, in my class of 38, there were four kids that didn't wear the right uniform (they didn't wear the sports one) and so the teacher took 15 minutes to lecture them. It was different though, the kids, though they had to stand up and listen, didn't actually have to pay attention to the lecture. They had a book in their hands or were looking outside, or were studying a paper on their desk. The teacher didn't seem to mind. By the way, punishment for late homework and other stuff like swearing is to stand up from your seat (in class) and just stand for 15 minutes. It gets tiring, really. I had to do it, not for punishment, but for a class, we all had to stand at attention to the military officer (the teacher) while he told as how to stand at attention and where to put the various body parts while doing so. He was funny though and friendly. Its a wierd combination, every one is very strict (not to the exchange students though), but very very friendly and funny.
Hey, small note, I had pig stomach, ear, and tongue for the first time for dinner two nights ago. It was not bad, though it won't go to my favorites list. Also, I had a another small speech to my Rotary club, half of it in chinese. Fantastic.
So I have a schedule worked out...
I get up at 5:30 in the morning, walk 10 minutes (past a mini-shrine and incense, always nice) to the bus stop, take that for like 15 minutes to the MRT rail station which I take for like 20~25 minutes and then hop on a train that takes about another 30 minutes. I get to school at a couple minutes before 7:30, which is when it starts. So it takes about an hour and a half every day to get to school and the same to get back. Nasty, but I have time to relax some and listen to music or read or study chinese. Then I sit in class listening for lets say, 9 hours, till 4:00 PM, trying to pick up as much chinese as possible. I then head home, if not doing anything else, where I have great food (I always love dinner) and then sit down to watch the same good chinese soap opera (I almost have the opening tune memorized) with Acgong (my host-grandpa) and my host-parents while first slurping down a small frozen yogurt/milk bottle (they are soo good, and so familiar, I think I used to have them in China) and then, to tell again, having hot tea in really small cups. For some reason, now that I am here I have more willpower and can get into a schedule easier. I have been working out slightly, as much I can without equipment too handy, and I even got to run 5k a couple nights ago (I did it in about 20 minutes with not much practice recently, I guess thats were the low altitude comes in).
The exchangers get shinese lessons 3 times a week for two hours each time, during and at school (good). I just found out that there will be a chinese test after 3 months. If were don't pass it, we get sent home. I am told not to worry about it though. Hmpf. I am learning alot of chinese though. I understand alot of really basic sentences. I am also getting to practice my spanish now with the two exchange students, also at Shiou Fong, from Colombia and Mexico. I had a great time listening to some spanish music.
So Elisa and Tonia got the exchangers together to go to Ximen last night (very popular teenage destination with tons of stuff to do). We went to some stores, an arcade, and then to a multi-level bar type thing. Don't worry, we had some hot Japanese green tea, mm, so good. There we all talked for like, and hour or so. I got to meet one of the other American dudes, Sac, and we talked alot of Taiwan and stuff. Nice dude. So that was relaxing. Afterwards the girls wanted to go to the Japanese Picture booths, so we did and got lots of litte mini sticker-pictures to stick to things. Yip Yip! Oh yea, also when we first got there, there was a tv crew running around spot lighting people (all of them running away). Then they spotted our group and came up to me "Oh, you speak English? Here here, the girl would like to sing a song for you! Would you like that?" I said that would be cool, so under glaring spotlight on tv, this small chinese girl in some tv show outfit or something for a game show I guess sang me a bit of a song by Avril Lavigne. Then they asked me whether I wanted to give here a coster with a O on it. A point for the girl I guess. I did, and they ran off looking for another person. Sweet. Random stuff like things seems to like happening.
Anyways, so thats about it. This place feels very familiar. I mix between Japan and China. It seriously feels like I always lived here, just like another home. Sorry to mum and pop for not writing this for 10 days, as you can see a lot going on. But there is alot I have written here, so enjoy you two. Over and out.
