Day 3, Taiwan

Wow! Where do I start?

How about the plane ride? It actually didn’t seem to long at all! After watching a movie I slept for seven hours (as the flight was only twelve hours it went very fast!). After arriving in Taiwan, I hustled though customs and to get my luggage. Then into another room and my host family was waiting for me. They had a massive sign and everything! It was really exciting, even my district president and youth exchange officer came. So, I got changed and then we went on our way.

As soon as I got out of the airport the humidity hit me. Its really hot here, but all stores, homes, restaurants and car’s have air conditioning. In my host family I have an older sister and a mom and a dad. There house is very nice! It has six floors, only the bedrooms have air-conditioning. My host sister and I have an adjoined room type thing, Its kind of hard to explain. My school is right across the street, we went there yesterday and its massive (at least two or more times bigger then my school in Canada!) School starts on August 31st, before that I have to get a school uniform.

The first day here I kind of took it easy, we went out for every meal. I decided to try everything at least once. There are defiantly some different flavours, but I have only come across a few things that I don’t like. It was my host mom’s mothers birthday, and we went for a big dinner. There was probably about eight courses in that meal, I became so full! It was funny, at the end the staff of the restaurant came and sang happy birthday. First in Mandarin and then in English, and then they brought her a hat that said “happy birthday” in English with a whole bunch of candles on the top. Everyone in the family loved it.

Yesterday, I slept in very late and Emily’s (my host sister) friends came over and brought KFC and pizza. It was all very good, the KFC tasted just like it does at home! We watched Talladega nights, everyone really loved it. They left and then we went to a rotary tea. All the wives of the men in the rotary club get together and drink tea and gossip all the time. It was actually really fun! We went to a building in the country side, which was actually and art gallery. We went home after that and proceeded to the my host dad’s mothers place for dinner. I tried stinky tofu as well, it was actually very good! The whole family speaks Taiwanese, so it kind of gets confusing. We ate a massive dinner, the grandma was very nice and very good at cooking. After, I played two games of Majong (which is a really fun game!) To my surprise, I won both times (with a little bit of help of course!) After watching a bit of TV we came home and watched more TV and stayed up until twelve.

Today we are doing to apply for my visa and get my school uniform! Im excited about that. Also I posted a picture of my host family waiting for me at the airport and the view of my balcony.

Three facts about Taiwan, there are seven elevens everywhere, the fruit only comes fresh and its very hot and humid!
I think that Ill post again soon.

-Rachelle

10 Days Untill Departure !

I cant even believe it! I can still remember applying for this is September, and now all the paperwork and interviews are over! So I leave in ten days : )

Im already fully packed, though I am sure that I will end up repacking again. All my presents for my host family’s are in order and all I have left is to get a new pair of shoes. I don’t know if its hit me yet, the whole leaving thing. But I think Ill just take each day as it comes and hopefully that will work out. My parents are having breakdowns about there last born leaving the nest. Its going to be strange not being at home and with my friends and family. I especially got nervous after hearing about that mudslide that covered six hundred people, it rained one hundred inches in a day! That’s insane, and I live on the west coast! It wasn’t anywhere near the area that Im staying in, so im sure it will be okay.


Im still talking to my host sister over msn and face book, she is so nice! Im so excited to meet her! She sent pictures of the house I will be living in, it looks so nice! Also its right across from the school I attend (big bonus for my first host family!) The school is so big! It has one thousand eight hundred students, that’s at least six hundred more then my school at home. I’ve been looking pictures of it, it looks very clean and nice. My host sister told me that they have uniforms, which I am really excited about! Then I don’t have to worry about what to wear to school every day! My sister was also talking about hot springs and how Taiwan is famous for them, that sounds so exciting! I have never been to a hot springs.


I have my Visa and plane ticket now, which is a relief. They worked out my Visa and I give my travel agent credit for pushing it to go as fast as it could. The Visa is like a sticker in my passport with my picture in it and a picture of Taipei101 in the back ground, its so neat looking! I have all my travel papers and health insurance in order now. Im so happy everything is coming together!


As for the language, its still going pretty rough. I did a few more lessons, and I have a whole lot of things that I still have to memorize. I think I should be able to get by. I say all the greetings (such as “good morning” or “good noon”), dates, numbers, days of the week, colours and just a bit more basic vocabulary. Im sure that my host sister will also be able to help me with this so I guess Im not as stressed about it now.


So anyways, the countdown begins already! This time I put a picture of my highshool and some of the surronding area near where I live.

Catch you later:


-Rachelle