Taiwanese Friends

I've been terrible at keeping this up. Surprise surprise. I try to tie together themes, but recently I've been terrible at writing them down.


SO starting today, I'm going to be posting something--a thought, a picture, or maybe a full-fledged novel--every day. I know people like my blog because it's not just a "here's what I did and when I did it" type of format, so I'll still try to keep it theme-based and reflective on Taiwan and studying abroad.


Today: Taiwanese Friends

Making friends abroad is tough, especially when there's a language barrier. They're not in your classes. They're not in your cultural activities. They aren't in your classroom building, and you definitely can't just go up to them and ask to be friends! Asian culture is a lot less extroverted than Western culture, so it's even harder to strike up a conversation.


For the first four weeks here, we didn't have any Taiwanese friends. Take it from me: it sucked. There's nothing worse than being in the country and not being connected to it. You can live in the land and see what is to be seen, but for me, a place is all about the people who live there. When I look back on my experience in Beijing, it's not China I really miss--it's my friends who live there and are tied to it. I know if I go back, they will still be there. It was distressing to have no Taiwanese friends, because I felt like it would forever feel like a tourist run-through for me, not an experience of living abroad.


BUT--just when hope was dying, the planets aligned. We were asked to help out at Fu Jen's "English Camp" for incoming freshman, and it was there we met Valerie, one of the TAs, Henry, one of the campers, Mark, the photographer, and several other characters who have really made us feel at home here. The weekend after the camp, we went around the city and nommed the best food I've had here! We also got iced lemon green tea. Anyone who knows me knows I like tea. But this...this was SOMETHING ELSE! I'll spare the intimate details, but I'm going back to that shop. For. Sure.


The next day, our language partner, Jasmine, and her friend, Angela (nicknamed "Jellyfish" in Chinese) took us to an AMAZING hotpot buffet. It was absolutely incredible, and led to some hardcore bonding through conversation. I'm so glad they took us out...it seems the locals definitely know where to eat around here!


For the first time, I felt as though I was digging my heels into Taipei--the people we have met along the way are really making me fond of this place and giving me a reason to come back. Every time we've hung out, my face has hurt from laughing so much. From subway ninja to batting cages and arcades, I'm lucky to have made the friends I have. I really hope I can strengthen these ties before I leave, and maybe even make a couple new friends!