Spent the weekend traveling to Taichung visiting scenic(sort of) places

Photos are on facebook,

Greetings from Taiwan :)

China!

I've been receiving emails lately about my program in China. I've never been happier to go to China. Haha. I mean, I do love being here in Taiwan, but it's really repetitive. Mon-Fri 2 - 5 pm, Chinese. With the same 6 students, no time to meet new people.

I can't wait to be in the University atmosphere again :)

I registered for classes today :) I will be taking a class on the American and Chinese relation, with things such as human rights, security, etc (my major basically). And a class about the urban culture, including neighborhoods, culture, etc.

Can't wait for this :)

Squatting 101

So, yesterday marked my 1 month being in Taiwan :)

Things are gonna be better now, I'm gonna get over my cultureshock/homesickness/funk

To celebrate it, I went to get unlimited hot pot with some AIESECers.

I had to use the bathroom really bad (pee) and so I went to use the restaurants bathroom, Usually, all the restrooms I've been in there have been toilet.

To my worst fear, there was the squattie! Staring right at me. I almost cried :(

I had no other choice but to squat, but I'm proud to say I went one whole month without having to use that darn thing.

After using it, the Taiwanese we were worth took 5 minutes explaining to me how to properly squat using a napkin shaped into this piece of porcelain.

But, I will not go into detail about that. I must prepare myself for China.

On the other note, I bought a 2nd hand bike today :) I will now go biking around. I'm pretty pumped!!!

臺北一零一 Taipei 101

I am beat.

Today was the dragon boat festival so school was not in session. Instead of partaking in the festival I went to Taipei 101 (didn't get to go up this time) once the worlds tallest building until Dubai beat it.

It's HUGE!!! Wished we could have gone up, but we had to catch a movie at 3:00 so next time I will go.

Also, got to ride on a Giant Ferris Wheel in an air conditioned box (All clear) it was pretty scary if you asked me.

You want to know how Giant it was? Took 17 minutes for one rotation.

I will post photos later. Today was deathly hot :(

士林夜市 Shì lín yèshì

I went to the Shi Lin Night Market today. It's quite large, actually one of the largest and most famous in Taipei.

So much delicious food and shops.

I ended up buying 2 new umbrellas. I couldn't resist. They are all so cute. I bought an automatic one too, so with the push of a button I can have it open or close :) So convenient, 很方便。

I got the bank issue solved. They will temporarily allow me to open an account. It’s complicated, but I worked with 2 newly trained females who were a lot nicer. I explained to them about the complicated and not so nice workers I dealt with earlier. They agreed that the ladies were not the brightest bulb, or not nice people.

Hoping to get paid next week, then I will actually do some major damage shopping in Taipei :)

冰奶茶和生煎包

Bīng nǎichá hé shēng jiān bāo

So, the first week I was here, all I ate was bread from the Bakery. I had no idea what to order to be honest, it's not that I don't want to try new things.

Then I found this stand nearby that sells pan fried steamed buns. I'm in love, and it's what I ate almost every day along with the Milk tea here.

I'm gonna get fat-TER from eating this everyday.

Taking out the trash

It's a little past midnight here. I have my first exam tomorrow afternoon. Hope I do well :)

Tonight was the first time I took out the trash here in Taipei. An interesting experience that was. Every night and 9:50 PM the trash truck comes playing music like the Ice cream truck and all the people in the neighborhood line up to throw their trash into the truck.

That's right, the truck doesn't come to you. You go to it.

So, as I arrived there was a large group already standing waiting to throw their trash in. I'd like to say, I enjoyed throwing my trash into this truck.

Here's a video example. Hope you enjoy. Good night Taiwan, Good afternoon US.

2nd from DMV from hell (China consulate)

Is working with the post office of Taiwan. I’ve had to go to this place about 3 times to open a bank account. After a lot of swear words I finally get an account.

In order to recieve my scholarship disbursement from my school, I need an account, so it’s crucial okay?

Well, I get a phone call today to come in immeditatly to the post office bank area.

Turns out since I’m only 19 years old and not a legal adult (20 in Taiwan) then they must cancel my account immediately. I was FUMING! No one told me they changed the stupid law.

I want to shout a million cuss words right now at these bit**** but I’m gonna hold it in. I just emailed my sister using a million cuss words about how much I hate Taiwanese public services.

Now I have to wait another 3 - 4 weeks (if I can get an account open with a letter from my parents).

Currently, I have no money. So, I’m not sure how I will survive these next few weeks. Going to kill someone, that’s for sure.

Seriously, opening the account was just bad, trying to get my ATM card was worst (The lady at the window didn't believe me because my signatures didn't match, she made me write it 5 times). And now I had to re close it.

It's frustrating when you can't speak Chinese fluently, but since I am not Caucasian and I am Asian, they assume I am Chinese so they are snooty to me because I cannot speak Chinese.

Did you know, Taiwan says they are not racist, but I read in the Taipei book (what they don't really tell you) is that actually they are a very racist country. Especially to those who are considered less worthy that come to work in Taiwan (Cambodian, Filipino, Etc). Yes, they favor westerners who are white, because they think all westerners are white.

I am just having a difficult time adjusting to the way people are treated if they are foreigners but not white.

What is Hmong?

So, as I have mentioned before it's been tough trying to explain what Hmong is to Taiwanese, but I think it might be easier when I go to China.

After my trip to China, I am hoping to network and meet people of the MiaoZu community (the Hmong in China). I would like to do Research on the culture differences of the Hmong from S.E. Asia, and China.

I've found little information about the Miao on English Websites, but I was able to search

三苗 San Miao which was known as the kingdom that once led China, who were the Hmong.

If I can learn to translate this, this site might be helpful.

http://www.3miao.net/

Hello Hello

Greetings from my little bo-peep room in Taipei City. First, I would like to begin with an apology for my lack of “Travel Blogging” I got carried away and did not find time to blog. Which, I feel was wrong of me because you have missed out on many happenings. So I will do my best to catch you up with what I’ve done so far in Taipei. I’ve been in Taipei a little over 2 weeks now, and I already feel like I’ve been living here for months. I am still adjusting to life in Taiwan and the many new things I take in every day. I can’t decide on whether these 3 months will fly by or whether I’ll be counting the days until it’s over. As of now, I’m counting days, but that’s because I’ve just began classes and I still don’t know many faces yet.

I’m going to do my best to sum up the 2 weeks in a nut shell (Kind of)

Arriving to Taiwan –

After a 14 hour flight, including 2 movies, 3 tv shows, and who knows how many hours I actually slept I arrived around 6 am into the Taipei international airport. It was dead here, no one, and I mean literally no one was at this airport. I am not sure if it’s because it was early morning or if no one in general visits Taiwan. I was picked up by my language partner back at home’s family. I stayed with them for a day as they helped me transition into this new world, new home of mine. They took me to night markets, scenic views, and even into the mountains. I also had the opportunity to visit the Chiang-Kai Shek Mausoleum, where his body remains.

Grace and Sherry (Who I stayed with)

After a day in Taoyuan, they brought me to Taipei city where I will be living for the next 3 months. My arrival to my new apartment was much anticipated. I was scared to be alone now and didn’t really want the family to leave me, but I sucked it up and went on my own.

My Apartment –

Well, how do I even describe it? As I walked into the apartment for the first time a foul smell overcame every sense of my body. I could see flies everywhere, and the kitchen was a mess. As I was led into my room, I almost died. It smelt like cat piss. There were no sheets, the room was not cleaned out by the girl who lived before me, and the bathroom had mildew everywhere.

Lonley room (sorry for the mess)

My bathroom was a new story, my first shower that I took was a mess. First, the bathroom that I have is the kind where the shower, toilet and sink all share the same surface area. Meaning, where I pee is where I shower, literally. So, the drains were clogged, with probably the females who used the bathroom before me, so as I showered gross much water raised over and I could see unpleasant things floating. I could barely handle it.

I found a cockroach in the bathroom too (nearly screamed) and ran out immediately. I was afraid to use my bathroom for a few days. Bought cockroach killing this but I wouldn’t go near it. My roommate was so kind to get rid of it (and later cleaned the bathroom)

I don’t want to complain about my room though.

I’ve managed to be a tourist as well :) I’ve gone to Northern Taipei, in a town called “Dan Shui” it was a beautiful port with mountains. But it was raining as I went. I went to the Taipei Zoo, but it was so hot I only saw the pandas and I left :) I’ve gone to the Museum of Contemporay Art (In which I waited 5 hours in line, long story) and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. I’ve gone to some night markets, but I still really haven’t gotton used to all the smells in the area. I am not a fan of the numerous smells.

Things I’ve tried

臭豆腐 – Stinky Tofu, the worst thing any person can eat. But it’s popular here in Taiwan.

The beast tofu, it was so nasty.

Steamed Buns – Delicious, I eat them every day

Milk Tea – I also have this every day

And some other random foods.

Class started last week Thursday. I have a total of 6 students in my class including me. Two of the students are Japanes and are married to each other, they are an older cute couple. I have 1 other American and another Japanese and I haven’t figured out the 6^th persons ethnicity yet. I will do this later this week.

So, that was Taiwan in a nut shell. I will keep this updated better. Thanks for reading :)

Gonna post random photos now. I will put in captions too.

Coming to Taiwan I thought I knew how to use Chopsticks, Nope, turns out I really can't. So, my goal by the end of this summer is to be an expert. So far, it's been a fail.

Having hot pot with some newly made friends :)

Did I forget to mention that heat is unbearable here? I mean the weather!!! So, I decided to just chop off all my hair :( I am sad, I miss it, but it's better than sweating all day. (I walk outside and 1 minute later it looks like I just got out of the shower)

Hope you enjoyed.