Level 2

Alright, my fair people, I have arrived in Taipei! Getting here was so-so, mainly because, while it was a bit more challenging in ways, I was better equipped to handle it from Beijing. So it's kind of like Pokemon...I leveled up my Charizard, so now it can handle the tougher opponents!

I'm sorry...it had to happen

Twenty hours of plane. Twenty. But everything went relatively smoothly. Except for when my medical cooler got cross-examined at LAX. I feel like people who work at airport security act like they have senses of humor but really don't...it's happened multiple times where they smile as they goofily tell me to take out my laptop, and I reply, in a very friendly manner, "I know the deal..."


But then she will retort something like "Well. A lot of people don't know the 'deal'". Well excuse me for trying to brighten your day, lady. Psh.


But after an eternity of Hunger Games-the-airport-version competitions for outlets, overhead bins, and passage through immigration, I was set free onto the streets of Taipei! The university sent a girl named Gloria to pick me up. Yes, Gloria, as in the ghost who haunts my room.


I could tell immediately that Taiwan really is worlds apart from mainland China, or at least Beijing. The geography is gorgeous: rolling, green mountains, dotted with palm trees and strange, tropical vegetation. They skies are the kind of electric gray, as if they are ready to produce epic thunderstorms at any minute. Gloria told me that if you get caught in the rain, your hair would fall out cause of the acid in it. UUUUMMMMM.


We're staying in a hotel-dorm thing across the street from the university. I have a single with a bathroom, fridge, tv, desk, and bed. AND AIR CONDITIONING. YES! I'm pretty sure I can see Taipei 101 from my window (eeep!).

Look way back in the skyline to what I think might be Taipei 101

This time around, things are a bit more challenging just because of the solitude of the trip. No Bobby accompanying me on the flight, looking back with a mischievous smile every so often. No Ali waiting at the airport, ready to red guard anyone who gets in our way, or break out mad Chinese skills. Even the program directors have been absent thus far. The other four kids in the program haven't gotten in yet, so I've been by myself setting up. It's good and bad: I like peace and quiet sometimes, and it's nice to be so free to explore. On the other hand, I'm in this new place with no guidance at all, and it kind of freaks me out to be going this alone! But, after my experience in Beijing, I knew I couldn't hide in my room! It's odd how when you are dropped into a new environment, on your own, you just want to hole up. It took me about three hours to get out of my room after I finished unpacking. I changed my clothes three times because I had some primal need to look my best just to scout the area.


The neighborhood is idyllic. Long streets with colorful signs and interesting shops along the way. Mopeds are the main thing here, and I snicker as I see Hello Kitty and Pikachu themed helmets.

Fu Jen on the right, FOOD Jen on the left! Get it? Get it?

The beginning of a Mario Kart race?

After a lunch at the chain Yoshinoya (which had WAY different food than Beijing! I also freaked when the bill was $160 for one bowl--but which translates to only $5.33 USD), I made my way into the Fu Jen campus. I knew immediately being at a Catholic school in Asia would be really unique, and it permeates the campus. Exotic trees shelter the paths, and twisted roots dance along the ground. Peking University had tame stray cats, and Fu Jen has DOGS! Everywhere, semi-stray dogs run and play. The students seem to take care of them. I saw three people pinning down one dog while he got a bath! I heard that Taiwan has some of the worst treatment of strays in the world, and I'm not sure if that was wrong, or if Fu Jen does this as a Catholic charity type thing, but it made me really happy. So happy that I pet a pathetic-looking dog, who nuzzled right up to me and asked for a belly rub. After fifty hand-washings and a good rub down of purell, I think I'm safe from the mange I noticed she had...but maybe fifty-one to be sure?

Dog being washed against his will.

Taiwanese people are so POLITE. A guy accidentally cut me in 7/11 and apologized before getting behind me. In Beijing, the guy would have knocked me over to get to the front! (No offense to my Beijing buddies, of course!) I don't know why the culture is so different here, but I'm looking forward to more observations like this...if only I could UNDERSTAND THEIR DIALECT x_x

Anyways, that's all for the first day! This is definitely a rambling post, but I wanted to get out my first impressions. YOU probably just look at the pictures anyways. Go back to Facebook now.

Deja Vu

Today I leave for Taiwan. I've been home for the past week, doing pretty much nothing. The best kind of nothing. In a lot of ways, packing for this trip is a lot like packing for Beijing--but a million times easier.

This program is eight weeks long, as opposed to Beijing's fourteen. I feel so much better having gone through the motions once already--what to bring, what not to bring, and most importantly, what to expect. My language skills are much better than before, so I am confident of my ability to get around. Learning traditional characters is going to be a problem, as about a quarter of characters are written differently than on the mainland. They are simply not as simple as the simplified characters of the PRC!

I have a lot of hopes for Taiwan--that I will improve significantly in my Chinese (without having to pull my teeth out), that I will learn about Taiwan's way-of-life, and really make Taipei my own. I think I'm most excited to compare Taipei with Beijing, and how the political split of 1949 has affected their respective societies. Oh, and, apparently the food is really good too :P

Anyways, there's this song that's just surfacing, and it's been in my head all day. It applies to this blog because it's a Chinese girl named Wanting (曲婉婷) . Her music is amazing. I think she's from Harbin, which is a Northern city famous for its ice buildings. Take a listen--Jar of Love


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgqnkT3ehfg&feature=related


Anyways, my flight is here and I am on my way to LA, then to Taipei. See you after 20 hours of plane...!