Day 52 -- July 15

So today was essentially a normal school day. I have been spending a lot of time reflecting on my experiences in Taiwan, this place is very good for me. It has showed me some things about myself that I otherwise would not have dealt with or acknowledged. I also feel at this half way point I am at a jumping off point. I’m not really sure what’s at the bottom of this but I am very excited to find out. I really want to give a shout out to the people who made this possible and who always told me I could and would do this. I really believe I am living my life here to the fullest, and I have all of you to thank for that. My life has always had direction and focus but I feel like Taiwan has given me clarity and brought me to a set of people that have changed me for the better. I needed a reflective moment, thank you for joining me on that journey.

    I went with Johnny for dinner, we were originally supposed to be getting 10 dumplings then heading back to Gong Guan to wander around. However we some how managed to get talked into egg drop soup and pickled veggies along with our dumplings. It was all quite funny, the Ayi (auntie or slang for older woman) kept harassing Johnny about his Mandarin. It was funny to watch him try to deal with her rapid fire Taiwanese. The meal was so freaking good and so much food. I am pretty sure that is the most food I have eaten in one sitting since arriving, save for the Fourth of July meal. After that we went and got movie tickets for Pacific Rim. The movie was somehow very profound. I haven’t decided why, cinematically speaking is was cheesy and bad acting but I don’t know, we all had a really good time watching it. We all also sort of bought into the badness of the movie. All of us now have an inside joke about the final speech given, it’s difficult to explain it but I will never be able to watch this movie again without thinking of Taiwan. It was an emotionally productive day, now to have a productive study morning. Chapter 8 test at 4 in the afternoon.