Tidbits from Taiwan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my two wonderful big bros! They are both 22 now!

and Merry Christmas!

Hmmm....so I went ahead and deleted my entire blog....yup.

You may be wondering why thats possible as you are reading it right now...well check this.

So I was trying to edit it but since I was at school and it was a smart webpage, everything was in Chinese. I did the unfathomable and clicked a button that could delete my entire blog, without the possibility of recovery. Yes, those buttons do exist, and yes...I clicked it. I also confirmed it when the confirmation box (in chinese) popped up, thinking it was confirming saving the changes I was making...which it did, just bad changes.

Point being, still working on my chinese character comprehension...

Luckily, I am kinda a nut about backup security, so its mostly fixed. I did you all a favor and reposted all the comments, though I think I need some more...hint hint. However, if any of you notice something I didn't put back in place (especially missing blog entries, as I know a couple were lost...oh dear), please, please show your Christmas spirit let me know.

This week I was working to finish up the essays and recommendations for a couple colleges. It all got finished smoothly I think, but I still have a lot of work to do.

On Friday, Philip and I headed to Jiantan station to watch the Fire Performance on the open roof of Orange Cafe. It was wonderfully beautiful with several performers. Some of them used balls of Fire, several used staffs with fire on the ends, and the last performer used no balls, but instead the entire length of the ropes were set aflame. Fantastic, just fantastic.

Saturday was my school's 50th anniversary so I had to get up slightly earlier to be at school by 9:30 in the morning. There were all kinds of performances like KongFu type stuff, gun twirling (really sweet), dancing, and others. Gaston and I performed the extremely famous (I hear it everywhere) love song called "Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo de Xin" with him singing and me playing the piano. After, Liz and Elisa sang Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" while Frodo (exchanger student but at a different school) played the guitar for it.
After the performance there were loads and loads of foods stands for each class and more mini-plays and some performances by students who had bands. We stayed there till around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, doing kind of a photo shoot as wierd as that sounds. Every one wanted pictures of us after our performances on stage.

Rotary had a party that night at a private KTV. We sang songs, ate dinner and got presents. Afterwards, a bunch of exchangers (say 20) happened to meet in the MRT station (that happens alot actually) and we all went and had some fun. Afterwards, me and Zach headed toward my house in a cab (cause I was a wee bit late). I found my door locked from the inside (later found out my little brother locked it) and my mom's cell phone didn't pick up which meant I would have to spend the night outside the apartment. I left my bag outside the apartment to tell her I was home and headed downstairs to the lounge room. Zach stayed to talk a little, but we somehow ended up talking, eating rice, and watching Ocean's 11 till 7:00 AM in the downstairs lounge room. At about that time I fell asleep on the couch while Zach talked with friends and family back home, on my phone. I was woken about 8:00 by the smiling face of an elf. Upon coming to more consciousness I realized it was the security guard who had been watching us all night long, wearing an elf hat (you should see the bus drivers in Santa Suits). He asked me why we were there and upon telling him my house was locked from the inside, he said, "Ok, I give you this place to sleep". That proved my Chinese has sunk in some since I was half awake on 30 minutes of sleep and was able to communicate. At 9:00 Zach and I went up to the apartment where my host mom just leaving. She had been wondering where I was obviously, and she let Zach sleep in our apartment. We slept till about 2:00PM, and then Zach headed home (in a spot of trouble with his hosts). All in all an interesting an fun night/morning.

Today, Monday, I got up late, bought some breakfast at the 7-11 a block away (I couldn't find the noodles in our place) and watched some TV. I headed out to see King Kong with Elisa and Liz (not too good I think) and just got home.

Not much else. I haven't had time to prepare for Christmas, but I think I will have time this week. Have a good night.

Yes yes, another two weeks have gone by, its true. Lets just expect that from now on so when a post comes out on time (every week like I should), then we will allll be very pleasantly suprised. Yip yip. Let me just begin by rejoicing for the long past college tests I have been lovingly prodded into taking. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I took the SAT, not once but twice this year, the SATII, not one of them but three, and oh yes oh yes, I did take the option ACT three times, thats two more than required. Its been jolly good fun. Good news is I am not getting that gagging sensation anymore, like the one when know you only have 5 minutes left for 15 questions. The impossible is possible. These questions do have answers. Enough...

My Host Mom was wonderful and got us tickets for Riverdance! Yehaw! It was cool, some nifty tap dancing always makes life more enjoyable. I missed my monthly rotary meeting because of it though, too bad. Next month...

Phillip and I have a new sport outside of lifting weights: meeting people. It gets a little more complicated than that, and we threw in some rules to spice it up, but the general jist is its fun.

Lets see...I went bowling with my classmates on the hill near my school. Good fun. Playing still more chess at school with the buds. Classes are fantastic now, learning about Chinese History and Chinese Characters [different parts, where they came from, etc]. Talked with some Mormons in the MRT station...not any other small news.

We had the big Chinese test that we were all "preparing" for. All but three of us passed. It was pretty simple, sitting in a room talking about who we are to some Rotary Members, but I have some serious suggestions how they might improve the way in which we are tested. Thats okay.

Ah yes, Felix, one of the Germans...lets start a new paragraph just for this exchange-memorial. He broke our heart, left us for another country. He has gone away and may his plane be aerodynamically sound to arrive at his destination. He was a happy camper, but not happy enough to want to stay a whole year. Felix, whatever crazy German Partei you may be at, party hard alter, party hard, have a good life.

On to a lighter scale, after the test this weekend my host family and I, along with two other families, went to WuLai Hot Springs in some gorgeous mountains, nice trip. Seriously great view. It also rains at the perfect moments, looking out at the pond and fog from indoors where its nice and warm. I walked around the main street while my host family settled in their rooms (I shared a room with Henry, my 11yr Host Brother) and found a great wood carving shop. Now, tell me, I got three nice painted [pottery like, not sure if its real] tea cup for NT$45, thats $0.50 each. Thats a deal right there. Then I passed by a stand by the side of the road while it was pouring rain by this time, and they were selling what looked to be roots being steamed in a metal pan. They were friendly so we chatted for like 20 minutes while they gave me some free roots to munch on (a LITTLE similar to Sweet Potatoes) and they suggested a great mountain in HuaLiang with not too many cars and a beautiful view. I might just have to go there now. Interesting guys, they asked me lots of questions about being an exchange student. [Small note: my chinese is getting good enough now that that entire conversation was in Chinese - Yip YIP!] Afterwards, a great Japanese dinner with like 5 courses and tea. We headed back to our rooms, and everyone wanted to go take a bath in their personal hot springs (one in each room, though there was a larger public one). I however wanted to play chinese chess and drink some tea (I know, getting addicted, but its everywhere here, hard to resist). So Steven Lin and I played some chess (he beat me) and then headed to bed.

Next morning (Sunday, 12-11) in WuLai we got up late (my plans to head to the other mountain again for the Buddhist holiday were cancelled due too many people cancelling because of partying late or activities with families, plus WuLai would be about 2 hours away from the mountain for me) and after breakfast headed down the mountain. On the way I spotted a nice looking temple, with an easily noticable massive golden goddess standing ontop. I headed inside for 15 minutes and talked to some friendly female nuns who gave me free incense to go with an incense holder I bought.

At 4:30 I met with Mr. Dwight Clark, a happy and very amiable semi-retired Quaker who founded VIA [Volunteers in Asia] in 1963. He was in Taiwan for just a few days for among other things, a ALC Program reunion. He was wonderfully interesting, and he told me about his life, beliefs, and how his work started. He also talked with me about my Dad, Grandfather, and how my dad had a great laugh (still does, cept now its a jolly chuckle). My Dad was, through Dwight Clark's Program, teaching English in Taiwan, around 40 years ago, while studying Chinese. We discussed life and the future for about an hour then departed.

I had dinner with my host family and the same two families with us in WuLai. We had some seriously fresh and tasty Sushi and lots of transparent noodles. At one point a very large, very sharp, and very much alive crab was wheeled in to be presented before us, after which it would be eaten by the same...heh. See pictures for that one. Anyways, scrumptuous dinner.

Still working on applications and staying awake. Hope every one's well. Till next week's blog (cross your fingers).

I haven't written since mid November, it now being the Midnight between the 3rd and 4th of December, so I am going to use extra proper english this time. The only excuse I offer is testing, my birthday, and other distractions. Christmas seems to be everywhere here, a fact slightly hypocritical as there is no day off to celebrate it. Jingles are always playing in stores or perhaps snow flake paste on's stuck to cafe windows. Cafes are everywhere, a starbucks every couple blocks next to a seven eleven, or their take-off counterparts, "Coffee Cafe" [written in the same Starbucks Font and Color] and QuanJia [also utilizing similar 7-Eleven visual appearances though in Chinese].

I must say without hestitation that I had one fantastic birthday weekend. Though my birthday was on a Saturday we had fun all three weekend days, counting Friday, partly because another exchange also had a birthday that weekend (not to fear, I am the older one by a day). Previous plans were slightly butchered by the fact that I had been contaged (deviation of contagious - a word Americans shouldn't be familiar with as it was recently masterfully created by a German) by other sick exchangers. On Wednesday I was soar with a runny nose. By Friday, I could barely speak without raspy pain subduing my esophagus. All the same, good times were had amidst singing songs and the aroma of a good pool game. After about 9:45, early I know, people started heading home, compliant with the rotary curfew of 10:30. Phillip, a German, and I, having haggled out with out hosts a later time of regression to our homes, headed to Jiantan station to watch the club of fire-twirling get raving. Upon arrival to the 3-story coffee house, we discovered I had been slightly misinformed. The fire-twirling deal was actually a performance that went one for 30 minutes in the third floor, requiring NT$200 tickets and the purchase of which to be at least 30 minutes in advance. So being 11:15 at the time, we were too late. With the sounds of apology escorting us out, we resigned to planning on going the coming week. Having been kindly booted from the cafe, we headed to a tea house. Drinking to our hearts content, we awaited the witching-hour, at which moment we exclaimed to ourselves and some interested onlookers a quiet "Hip Hip Horray", as I turned 18.

The next night, it being my real birthday, instead of the original plan of a club (again, foiled by my sickly indisposal and raspy voice), a group of us watched my close to favorite movie, "Gone in 60 Seconds" at the ZhongXiao DunHua MTV. After two hours of grand-theft packed action and Low Rider, we had some coffee and headed home. I also might mention I received some top quality gifts, those being sunglasses, candy, a tea pot, and a few unmentionables.

The next day at 5:30 am, we roused the biggest group yet to make the pilgrimage to the mountain of tea. Seven people in all arrived at the tea hut at around 8:00 in the morn and started guzzling down some cha. Sadly, we were not able to stay for too long as a couple hours later, a rather large and noisy group started singing some praises and hymns. Though they kindly offered a place for us to come also and worship, we instead headed down the road toward a restaurant. About an hour later, after some confusion swept our little gathering, we sat down for a very fancy and scrumptous meal of noodles, rice, and meat overlooking the mountain valley. Stomachs being filled, thirst being quenched, a slightly smaller pack hiked down the side of the range of hills. This time we took more advantage of the river, jumping on rocks and avoiding green slimy patches, prone to send you flying. We also visited the mysterious statue guard we had spotted from afar on our last journey down the mountain. It turned out to be a very old and spider infested statue of we-still-don't-know-who.

Upon descending and riding the MRT (subway) to ZhongXiao FuXing, we noticed [we couldn't have ignored] a curiously gigantic parade of colorfully decked out protesters. Through the noise of chants and the roar of the air being sliced by a helicopter circling above, we gazed upon an apparently very long group of people, as we could not see the end of this event in either direction. Supposedly, people had come out in anger after a political party had tried to shut down a TV channel for critizing the party. Or I could have completely lost the explanation to translation.

That night a barage of food and gifts fell upon me in a feast with my and Elisa and Tonia's host families. An array of pizza (mostly seafood) and desserts were laid out, some homemade. My quite awesome host family gave me a book in chinese (with characters and chinese phoentic symbols to learn how to read the characters), a very old, very valuable (in sentimental measure) teapot, and the new Jay Chou (probably the most famous Taiwanese artist, yet no foreigner [non Taiwanese] should know who that is) CD which included a VCD of his concert. Also presented was a wooden bread mold, some very pretty chinese style pictures, a calligraphy brush, and chinese pillow cases. Wonderful. Thanks!

This wednesday we (all central states exchangers) had a very nice dinner with some Rotary Members and the United Central States Chairman, John Weting (pronounced 'Weeting') from Michigan. He turned out to be a very enthusiastic man and experienced traveller, whose favorite food and country was the "one he hadn't yet experienced". The dinner consisted of, now just listen to this, lobster, mushroom soup, steak done to your preference, tea, and several more equisitely prepared dishes, all cooked right in front of you. To top of the free dinner for kings and the good company, each of the three exchangers present, received a generous financial gift in a red envelope. Lets just say enough to buy a lot of rice. Noooice.

With Thursday came an awesome party from my class for my birthday. They bought two massive cakes, a bunch of sodas and doritos. They gave me nifty handy-dandy magnetic chinese chess set and a couple bookmarks. If I could add, here in Taiwan, they don't just give you one wish when you blow the candles out, but three. Two of which must be spoken out loud and one kept to yourself. It also, I can only come to conclude, is a traditional to smear the birthday-person's face with frosting...yuuuum. That led to a larger frosting-on-face fight.

Today, being Saturday, I took the SAT-II (Literature, Math II, and Physics) all being nasty hard and each one hour long. I got through at 12:30 with the test and all required forms, headed home and slept till 5:30. Then I went out, played some pool with Zach and then walked around Ximen and got some coffee. So, now here I am typing in the pitch blackness of 2 AM with a nasty headache. I hope you all have a good afternoon where you people mostly are.