Month Number Three

I have officially completed my third month in Taiwan. This was by far the best month, but also the worst month.

I had so much fun this month. I hung out with a lot of new Taiwanese friends this month. They invited me out to bars and on a day out of town. Going to Taichung with two of my Taiwanese friends was really fun. It was good to get out of my small city and walk around a bigger town. Taichung was great for some cheap shopping. It's interesting to see all the different types of style around. Taiwan is both the most fashionable and the least fashionable place I have ever seen. Some people really know how to dress, and some people just do not.

One bad thing that happened this month was I got a really bad cold. It was the worst cough I've ever had. It was really rough being so sick and feeling so bad without anyone to take care of me. Luckily, my boss is a super nice lady that helped me out a lot and took me to the doctor. After a week, I'm finally starting to feel better. One thing I learned when I was sick is that Taiwanese people think you should not drink anything cold when you are sick. No cold water, no iced anything. Everyone kept buying me this really delicious hot drink though. It tasted like sour tangerine Altoids and it was so soothing for my sore throat.

I've learned a little bit of Chinese this month too. I have been learning what some of the symbols are, which is really helpful and cool. I know how to count to ten, and I have learned some common phrases. Chinese seems really difficult, but I want to buckle down and start getting serious about learning it.

Another bad thing that happened this month is my computer completely fell apart. It just broke in half. I got almost five good years out of it though. But on a good note, I got a new laptop! My wonderful mom helped me by a new Mac Book Air. It is so nice to have a new computer.

One thing I learned this month that I thought was interesting was that Taiwan uses a different system for numbering years. They started with 0 in 1911 because that is when Taiwan was founded. So right now, it is year 102 here. I found that really interesting. My health card says my birthday is is 80/6/24.

Lastly, it is finally getting colder here! I am so happy about that. It was so hot when I first got here, and now I can finally wear sweaters and things like that. I love it!

This month was so far the best month. I can't wait to see what November has in store for me.

My Day In Taichung

Today I went to Taichung with two of my Taiwanese friends. Originally, we were going to go to a jazz festival but ended up doing other things instead. We spent most of the day shopping and hanging out with their aunt in her shop. Here is a play by play of my day.

We started by taking the train at 11am from Changhua to Taichung. It's a pretty quick ride by train, about 15 minutes. After that, we got lunch at McDonalds. I had fries and iced coffee (lunch of champions). It was perfect.

Outside the train station

After eating lunch, we took a bus to a shopping area in the city. There were SO many people, so many places to shop, and the biggest mall I've ever seen. The mall (they call the whole mall department store) was three buildings that were connected, went 3 floors below the ground, and at least 14 stories above ground. It was insane and expensive. So we went to the cheaper places. It was basically a bunch of alleys jam packed with people and shops or stalls. Lots of clothes, phone cases, purses, and food. It was impossible to walk around without running in to someone. It is a popular place for young people to hang out and shop because everything is so cheap. It was fun though. The stores had interesting names like "Merry Jane", "Pancake", and "Animal Girl". Here are some pictures from that excursion:

At the department stores

People sell things anywhere they can

The floor of a shop

Super cool sign

The ugliest shirt in Taiwan

During this shopping trip, we got something called "special green tea". It was really good but really weird at the same time. It was iced green tea with this white foam on top. The foam was sweet but also salty and bad tasting at the same time. One sip it would be sugary, and the next it was bitter. It was very interesting. I asked my friend what the foam was, but she didn't know how to explain it in English. After we got our green tea, we got lost and we found this awesome, HUGE silver goat. I'm talking gigantic. It was so cool.

Special green tea

The silver goat (or ram maybe)

After that, we hung out in my friend's aunt's shop. It was a crowded clothing store, but it had some pretty cool things in there. Another family member insisted on taking us out to dinner, so we ate in the mall food court. I was giving a very interesting Taiwanese snack. It looks like soup. But it has peanuts in it. So it kind of tastes like peanut juice, if there was such a thing. In the peanut juice is chunks of processed soy beans (and it looks like fresh mozzarella). I was okay with the peanut juice, but the texture of that soy bean stuff was probably the worst thing ever. It was like, liquidy/mushy/melted in your mouth but also kind of chunky? I can't even put it into words. It was something different. For dinner, I ate fried rice that had beef, shrimp, chicken, AND tiny octopus tentacles in it. It was really, really good. I also had a side of seaweed soup and some unidentified veggies.

The Taiwanese snack

After eating, we went back to her aunt's shop and hung out for a long time. We drank tea and had a really good time. They didn't speak English so my friends at to keep translating everything. Here is the shop:

It was a really good day. I bought/given a lot of things but only spent about $30 US. Here are my purchases:

The coolest shoes ever

Headband

Black sweater and a $3 skull scarf

The aunt gave me this for free (and I bought the flower overalls at a very cheap price)

After a loooong day, we took a bus and then the train back home. It was a really fun day. It was cool to hang out with new friends, and to experience a different, bigger city. I will definitely be heading back there soon.

First Time at the Doctor's

I have been really sick the past few days. I've been coughing, have a sore throat, and a runny/stuffy nose. It has been rough, but I was a little scared to try to go to the doctor.

Today my boss took me to the doctor and it was the fastest, easiest thing I've ever done. It took a total of 7 minutes from walking in and leaving with some medicine. Another great is it only cost me $5.11 US.

It was thirty minutes before I was supposed to teach my first class and my boss was like, I am taking you to the doctor. And I thought she was crazy. I didn't have an appointment and I had to be back to teach! But we went and it was great. It helped having her there because she of course speaks Chinese and that made it easier. We filled out one form, and they immediately sent me back to the doctor. I sat in a chair, he sprayed some stuff in my throat and nose, stuck weird Q-tips up my nose, and told me I had a cold. He gave me a prescription for all these different pills that I got two minutes later from the office. I was so scared, but it was so easy. Here are some pictures:

Now I'm just waiting to feel better, and drinking some hot green tea in the mean time.

The Genius of 7-11

I think the number one thing I will remember from my time in Taiwan is the insane amount of 7-11s there are. I pass about six of them on my short ride to work. They are EVERYWHERE, and open 24/7. According to some research I did, there are almost 5,000 7-11s in Taiwan. It's not a very big island, guys! I've thought a lot about this, and I highly approve.

Who ever runs 7-11 is very, very smart. You can do anything and everything at 7-11. They are the ultimately the most convenient convenience store. They are so convenient that I haven't had to go to the grocery store for a month. Why you ask? Because 7-11 has everything. And it is extremely delicious, high quality stuff too. Over half my meals come from 7-11, and that probably sounds horrible if you've never been to a Taiwanese 7-11.

You can do so many things at 7-11. You need food, vitamins, clothes, candy, and vodka? All are easily acquired at 7-11. Oh, you also need minutes for your phone and to pay a traffic ticket or a water bill or electric bill? 7-11. A taxi, photocopying, stamps, AND you need some pictures developed? 7-11. You can even have your packages delivered to 7-11. I don't understand how one place can do so many things so efficiently. It blows my mind. It's just so smart.

I go to 7-11 at least twice a day. The people that work there are would be my best friends if we spoke the same language because I see them so often. I just think everyone needs to know how impressive the 7-11 takeover is here. One thing I've learned is Taiwan is all about convenience. 7-11 definitely has the right idea.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I've now been in Taiwan two months and this last month flew by. And it was a really good month for a number of reasons.

I have had so much this past month with my friends here. We hung out a lot and I have had some wonderful conversations with them. I spent a lot of my first month alone in my apartment being homesick, but I'm getting over that. Going out and getting Starbucks to read or talk with friends is a much better way to spend my time. We also had some crazy, fun nights out on the town that I can hardly remember but I will also never forget. Getting out and doing anything really has made this month fly by.

I have been trying a lot of new things this month too. I have tried many new foods and beverages, most of which I have liked. The exception is bubble tea. That stuff is disgusting. I think going to eat new places and trying random things has expanded my horizons and made me feel like I'm getting to know the area and the culture a lot better.

My attitude about my job has changed as well. I was starting to get down about it, and didn't think I was really cut out for this job. I've thought a lot about it and changed my attitude towards the job and myself. You have to be able to adapt from class to class and it takes time to figure what works for what class. Now that I know my classes and my students better, I feel better about what I am doing here. I have realized this job isn't everything that I wanted to be and that isn't a bad thing. It is just different than what I thought it would be. It is a different experience than I thought I would have, but I will benefit from it nonetheless.

There are a few things I miss a lot (aside from family, Bobby, and friends). I really miss taking baths because my apartment doesn't have a bath tub. I miss singing in the car, and pizza with sauce on it. You never know what really matters until you don't have it.

Two months down, ten to go. If the next few months go by as quickly as September did, I'll be home in no time.

New Foods

 Recently, I have branched out from my usual meal of fried rice and tried some new things. Some very delicious new things. I thought I would write a post and show you guys some of the things I've been trying.

First up, the rice burger. Instead of bread buns, it has two sticky rice patties on top and on the bottom. And the beef inside is not hamburger meat, it is more like pieces of beef with some lettuce. I had read about these rice burgers when I was still in the states. It is surprisingly delicious. Definitely better than a lot of the hamburgers I have tried here. You have to eat it with this wrapping around it so it doesn't all fall apart. I got it at this place called Mos Burger, which is kind of like a McDonald's. I will definitely be back for another one soon. Here are two pictures:

Next, I went to a night market with some friends Saturday night and tried a food I had seen around a lot. I have no idea what it is called but I've been calling them squid balls (which is a really unattractive name). Basically, it is a ball of dough/bread-like stuff with squid in the middle, a sauce, and a flaky pastry-like topping. There are stands EVERYWHERE selling this type of thing so I thought I would give it a try. They were pretty good. The squid in the middle was really chewy, and it tasted and smelled really seafood-y. I would try them again. Here is a picture:

Lastly, the rice triangle. They sell these at 7 11, and I see them all the time but had never tried one. One of my foreign teacher friends has been talking about them nonstop so I ate one tonight. IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER EATEN. I want to eat a million more of them now. They come in a variety with different meats/fish. I had one that was chicken. All it is is a triangle of white rice, chicken, and dry seaweed on the outside. I can't even tell you how amazing it was. I wish I could send one to all of you. Here is a picture of what that looks like:

Trying new things is what this experience is all about for me. I will definitely continue to try new foods that I find around town because so far, I really like everything I have tried.

Moon Festival

 Moon Festival (a.k.a Mid-Autumn Festival) was yesterday. The Moon Festival is used to celebrate the gods, give thanks, and to celebrate the end of the fall harvest. It is a public holiday so there was no school yesterday. Some of the ways people celebrate are by eating mooncakes, bbqing, and praying. It is always held when there is a full moon.

Mooncakes are definitely an interesting food. They can come in many different flavors and fillings. The kind I had was a more savory cake, with meat in the middle.  It was very filling and not what I expected.

On Wednesday night, I hung out with some new Taiwanese friends. We drank a few beers and ate some barbecue. It was really fun. There was bbq fish, lots of vegetables, and we roasted marshmallows. You could see people everywhere, also barbecuing and lighting off fireworks. Here are a few pictures from my evening:

It was also my teacher friends birthday. So after we barbecued, we went out for a few drinks and I had pretty stellar night.