Day 44 -- July 7

First half of the day involved mostly sleeping. I took a full 12 hours to just rest. I was absolutely lovely, though I think I might have slept too long on one side, my right shoulder is hurting a bit. I’ll stretch it out and try not to sleep on it. So the big plan today was to go with Meiling and Shilan over to Wu Fenpu shopping district and buy some pants. We weren’t going to go until four so after I ate lunch/breakfast I hunkered down for some homework. Like clock work the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in. It’s utterly amazing how loud the thunder is. A few times I jumped even though I knew it was coming. I got most of my homework done, then goofed around.

Street Food!

    We left and decided that we would take the bus instead of the MRT to the shopping district. It was a good forty minutes there and we all took alternating naps. Once arriving we sorta threw ourselves into it. It was a little bit frustrating for me as we had first to find clothes I liked and second clothes that would fit. They do carry my size in some places but you really have to look for it. It’s a little maddening when people essentially tell you, you are to fat to wear their clothes. Meiling and Shilan were very patient and we were able to find some clothes. I only got two pairs of pants, but they are freaking awesome. I have always wanted pairs of pants like this and now I own them, so take that world. I wanted to get some t-shirts and things, but everyone was getting hungry so we decided to go to the night market that was over by Song Shan temple.

    The night market was much more compact with the same amount of people typical to a night market. Which means moving through the area was very difficult, but we all had fun. This night market had more of a typical night market feel. (Shida night market is mostly for clothes and Gong Guan is very spread out.) People yelling at you random vendors, street food that was strange but probably delicious,. For food we settled on a little noodle shop. The food was very enjoyable and the company was lovely. We sorta just spent the next hour moseying around this night market. I really would like to go back to this area and explore even more now that I know what is there. I’m thinking of kidnapping Jillian for an earlier adventure. Everyone wants to go shopping much later which is less time. If I go around 2 that will give me more time to slow down and not have to worry about eating.

Lanterns!

    We took a different bus back to Gong Guan, on the ride I got a summons from the American friends to come hang out by the track. I took Meiling and Shilan along and it was quite fun. We all just started talking and making new friends, it was very nice. Meiling and Shilan were excited to meet some of my other friends. I am really happy about how my relationships are developing with my roommates. It makes life more fun. We head back and I modeled the clothes I had bought. We decided that I should wear the green pair tomorrow. It’ll be a test run to see how I do in pants and heat. Hopefully it’ll be alright. It’s a little earlier than normal but I think I’ll go to sleep. Good night everyone!

These are really unflattering pictures but they have the pants I bought so oh well

Day 43- July 6

Woke up early today, so I could meet Jillian and Nick at Gong Guan. We were going to travel down to Xindian, the end of green line. And then from there off to Wulai! Finally get to go back and do some actual hiking and exploring. I was so excited, after a small snafu with the trains we all ended up at the same place. I tried to be clever and get on the right train with Nick and Jillian but instead they were the train behind me. So ultimately I ended up waiting for the same amount of time, such is life. We hopped the bus up into the mountains. I don’t know why but I always get so tired on the ride. Something about the longer bus rides is very soothing I always have a small nap.

    First order of business was to orient ourselves in the town and figure what we wanted to do. We decided that we would go up the river and try to make it to the waterfalls. We wandered for a bit and found  a easy access to the river. Then we started wading. It was an absolutely perfect day for it. It was hot but the water was an ideal temperature and wading was a lot of fun. The rocks are slippery but throwing on a bathing suit and just going for it was the right thing to do. The scenery was breathtaking, little water falls and deep pools for swimming. Nick saw a giant catfish that I proclaimed the river god. We walked up the river for perhaps an hour and a half. The best way to describe what I saw is just to show pictures, they’ll be a bunch of them down below with captions.

butterfly nesting thing

Hanging out in the cool water

This little area was great for swimming

So beautiful!!

    We didn’t make it up to the water fall as the clouds started to look dark, we decided we could try again later. Now that I’ve done this hike and accessed how it goes, I really want to go all the way up to the waterfall, it’s a personal goal at this point. But I will need a companion, wading through rivers and rock climbing is never a good thing to do alone. I’m going to have to find someone willing to really go for it. I will get to stand under those waterfalls!! We hopped the bus back, Jillian and Nick took the MRT home but I just took the bus all the way back to Gong Guan. It started to rain and at first it wasn’t so bad then it was dumping buckets. The thunder was loudest I’ve ever heard. It sounded like someone shooting a gun. And of course I managed to forget an umbrella. I am a desert child, it doesn’t rain hard or long enough to need an umbrella. Thankfully my stuff had been water proofed due to the adventure in the river.

    It was raining so hard that the two minute walk from the bus stop to the dorms it looked like I had jumped in the river fully clothed. Nothing you can really do about it at that point but laugh. It was coming down so hard and fast it was flooding out the streets a little bit, but drainage systems are good here. I rolled into my dorms dripping wet. My roommates are always surprised I forget to take an umbrella, but it’s just not a common thing where I am from. I changed clothes, shared my Wulai mochi and then curled up for a nap. I was so tired, hanging out in the sun and playing in the river, I slept for a good two hours. Then I got up and went for a jaunt in the Gong Guan night market. After sampling around the street food, I went back and curled up with some Taiwanese dramas. Tomorrow I am supposed to go on a small shopping trip to Wu Fenpu with my roommates. This will be my first shopping trip where I actually am going to buy myself something that isn’t food, it should be a good time. Time to follow up on that nap with a good night’s sleep.

Day 42 -- July 5

Well today was there was very little motivation to actually get things done. Other than studying, I  really didn’t do much for the morning. I went to MTC met up with Markus and I have now made another French friend, Mehdi, I believe is how his name is spelled. I ate lunch with the both of them I received a crash course in European politics. The dynamic is very interesting and very different than how it is portrayed in America. My new French friend is very proud of being French. We sat out of the patio and talked for about an hour, it started to rain which was lovely. It cools off when it rains making life much easier. We eventually dashed back into the building and headed off to class.

Curry!

    Class was fun, fairly laid back. The test actually wasn’t so bad. The speaking part was fun, we talked about our Universities back home. After class I went to the Everything store and finally got a binder and dividers for the class. I’ve been threatening to do this for a while but today it finally happened. I came back to the dorm and went for a run. It was awesome, it felt good to be back on the track. I made it about 6 miles, then headed in as it was getting dark which means there would be more bugs. Dinner was a 7/11 special. After that It was homework and just hanging out in the room. Not a terribly exciting day but tomorrow I will have more to report on. Good night!

100% fruit and veggies for guaranteed vitamins

Day 41 -- July 4

So today was my first ever time not being in America for the 4th of July. As far as days in taiwan this one was particularly fun. I left early for conversation class, and swung into Shida to get some breakfast. I am quickly becoming a regular at the breakfast restaurant. I placed my order and the lady who delivered my food had me read the conversation I was studying. It was really fun, she asked how long I had been studying and when I told her one month she was really impressed. I really don’t feel like I am that good at speaking, but I guess for one month I am doing alright. It’s difficult to gage because some days are better than others. After that I headed out to the MTC building where I found Markus, my new German friend.

    Class itself was a lot of fun. Shuo Laoshi had Markus and I record a conversation for the class. I had fun talking to new people, again I managed to find Japanese people to talk to. Over half the school’s attendance comes from Japan so the rest of us are often out numbered. After that Markus introduced me to Gi Yongde, a Thai friend and we all went to lunch. I was going to get dumplings but she wasn’t out, so we swung into the green restaurant. Yongde was sneaky and he paid for all of us, we tried to pay him back but he kept insisting. This I know for a fact is culture, making new friends is very easy when you pay for food. I builds strong bonds and also shows that you have money to spend on friends. Though as an American when I try to do it people become very flustered. I think it’s a good system, sharing meals with friends that way no one owes anyone money. It’s just a gift.

    Class was incredibly frustrating in terms of the material. Numbers are difficult but the Chinese (and Japanese) system groups by fours and not threes. So learning to count large numbers can be exceedingly difficult. Some days I will be frustrated and it’s ok it means I am learning and trying to process. It was raining insanely hard in the middle of class. The thunder actually cover up what Laoshi was saying a few times. Also Chinatsu and I were messing around with our erasers. I really enjoy the kinship of our class, we work quite well together. Tomorrow we will have the chapter 6 test. I am not sure how it will go, I will probably study most of the morning. After class I tried to go and get a new ID card but it was too late, so i will arrive tomorrow before the typical lunch hour and get my new ID.

My eraser has a hat!

    After class due to the immanent threat of more rain we (the American exchange students) decided that going and getting burgers would be better than attempting a BBQ. After a small decision making process (read: Facebook posts) we ended up at T.G.I Friday, Taipei. A little bit pricier than our usual fair but worth it. So the cool thing about going to a chain restaurant in another country is it will be the same food and the same taste. We had some bomb burgers that were American portions. We ate and were able to barely finish. In fact a few of us couldn’t finish. Good laughter and good friends made it all the better, I am pretty sure that everyone enjoyed themselves. After dinner we swung by the 7/11 and snagged American candy bars for dessert. I rode the MRT back with James.

So good!

    I got back into the dorms and worked on my homework. I really feel overwhelmed by languages at the moment. It’s really hard to think when you have three people speaking three different languages that you can understand with varying degrees of efficiency. I’m feeling a little twisted up about the whole thing. This is one of the parts if learning new languages you have to find space for them in your head. I will hopefully get it all sorted out. I am going for an early night, epic studying for tomorrow!

Day 40 -- July 3

So first thing I did today was go down and get a short term card that will let me in and out of the dorms. The women’s dorms are always locked and are only open to female visitors. There is a sense of extreme gender separation that I feel is incredibly antiquated. It’s frustrating for me personally as most of my friends are male, I always have to go out to be with them and outside is humid. Well anyway I got my card, I will return it when I receive a new ID card. I then went back to my dorm and promptly slept for another two hours. Some days it is hard to get up, especially when class isn’t until 2:20 in the afternoon. I did eventually drag myself out into the real world.

74 is my bus!

    I took the bus to Shida hoping to grab some jiaozi (dumplings) for lunch. I was sadly disappointed when my usually place was closed already. She stays open until she doesn’t have anymore goods and today I missed out. So I grabbed an egg bread carry out food with some coffee and headed over to MTC to study before class. Class itself was good. We had to finish our test and do the speaking part then Laoshi spent most of it going over the new vocabulary. Reid told us that by his flash card count we are almost up to 300 hundred new words, this includes extra words that Laoshi has taught us so we can make sentences. It was a nice relaxed day. We were assigned a significant amount of homework, which is unusual for the second day. I think this chapter might by really important just in terms of usefulness. We have learned the to think and to feel verbs which I always helpful in conversations.

    After class I headed back to the dorm. Today Meiling and Shilan were going to go with me to have dinner. Originally we were going to go wander stalls and find food. But when we got to the night market we realized that Wednesdays were the official rest day of the Gong Guan night market. The permanent shops were still open so we wandered into one of those for a sit down meal. I ended up with noodles and beef, a nice standard for this area. As usual is was very good. We then went to a little tea shop for a drink. I really tried to order in Mandarin but every time I picked something they were either out or it wasn’t in season. We just laughed at my luck. We walked back and came up to the room, it was homework time.

Meiling

Shilan

Drink stand!

    My homework was surprisingly difficult. We had a new type of homework that involves filling in the blanks. There is still one I don;t understand, I asked Meling if she knew but she wasn’t sure. I am going to ask Laoshi tomorrow. Tomorrow as you all know is Fourth of July my fellow Meiguo ren (Americans) are getting together after class for a BBQ. Something small to celebrate our holiday. It should be fun. I am going to bed early and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to drag myself out of bed. I am supposed to go to conversation class which is at 10. Should be a fun time! See you tomorrow!

Day 39 -- July 2

It’s going to be a very short entry today was fairly uneventful. Not really hat surprising considering that routine was bound to occur if I stayed in one place long enough. I got up and got breakfast at the 7/11.  It was really good, extremely filling. Hitched the bus to Shida, sat around for a couple hours and studied for the test. Class was fairly laid back, we were all getting ready for the test. The tests are starting to take longer. Our speaking part will have to happen tomorrow due to not enough time. I will be giving a speech about my family and my classmate Kanda. I went home and essentially locked myself away for a couple of hours for homework.

    I wandered outside in hopes of dinner and foolishly forgot my umbrella, Sunny. So now I have a small backpack sized umbrella. It has no name as of yet. It’s raining cats and dogs outside the lightening is fairly epic. When it goes off for a moment it looks like day, then there’s thunder that will rattle your teeth loose. Also somewhere in my trek for dinner I managed to lose both of my student ID cards. Frustrating but not debilitating, I still have an easy card so bus riding is still possible just currently not discounted. I will go tomorrow and get that dealt with. I came back to the room finished up what was left of my homework. And that ends a fairly routine day. Its nice to have a routine to be honest. A comfortable groove that gets me through the day. Tomorrow I am sure will be more eventful, good night everyone!

Day 38 -- July 1

My day started off with a chat on Skype. Mom and I talked for a good solid hour, it was nice to catch up. It was very funny Cookie, the new dog, freaked out when she saw me on Skype. We both laugh really hard about it. After that I decided to go to Shida and find some breakfast. I went to the breakfast place again because it was so cheap and got myself some food. I also made some new friends. Stevie from the University of Hawaii and Markus from Munich, Germany. Today was their first day at MTC. We chatted for a long while. It was really good to just talk to different people with different view points. Stevie showed some interest in hiking so hopefully I will end up with a buddy.

    Class was fun as usual. Reid has managed to earn himself a black eye, apparently he was in a club and someone just popped him in the face. Pretty intense, it kinda made me laugh at the blatant honesty of the story. Nothing epic just walking through a crowd and bam right in the face.  The grammar is starting to make sense and I can actually stumble through a sentence without  Laoshi correcting every tone I utter. I am beginning to feel more confidant. Right at the end of class Sean called me, he wanted to eat together at 7/11 on the GongGuan campus. It’s rare that I get to hang out with him so I jumped at the chance.

    I scurried off to the bus and caught it before it left. I was rather proud of myself for that. I got there in record time. Dinner ended up being a rice and curry dish. Quite yummy, throw in 100% fruit and veggies drink and life is good. We went on a wander back through the art village. We stopped by the river as the sun was taking it’s leave on our little island. It was nice, we really didn’t talk much but just enjoyed the world around us. It was very comfortable for me. It’s the little quiet moments that make this place such a wonderful experience. I’m sure Treasure Hill and I will become close friends in the coming months, it is a lovely place.

    After that we walked back and I went inside to find my roommate watching another drama. I got totally suck into it. I am now watching the Emperor’s Harem with her. It’s a period drama about the servants and the concubines in Ming China. It’s a really good way to learn words I am discovering. Also an awesome bonding moment with Meiling. I keep laughing at the poorly translated English but it gets the message across enough that I can still watch and understand what is going on.

    Then Shilan Li (Korean roommate) came back with food. It smelled so good. It was a garlic sauce with eggy bread. So tasty, I really loved it. She promised to show me the stall tomorrow, we shared in laughing and trying to communicate. We decided that Wednesday we would all go to dinner and Sunday we would go shopping. I am so excited that I can share things with my roommates. I feel like I am beginning o really belong in this small space I call my room. I went for another wander with Sean it was a peaceful end to the day. Tomorrow is the Chapter 5 test, hopefully I will do well.