Now that I'm awake...

Day 2 was so much fun and I was much more aware of what was going on. First off, I want to share with you the few Chinese characters which I have memorized for their importance. First is Tea, which I learned from Jared Stout, because it is EVERYWHERE! I know their are some good Tea's out there, but I just stay away from all of them just to be safe. (If you would like to send me the characters for the GOOD tea, be my guest, but until then, I'm sticking to water and Bingsha.)

The next two are also two characters that I when I see them, I avoid them. And those are Betel Nut and Coffee. Those are also everywhere. Yuck!

The next two are simply two that I see and remember, Taiwan and Chicken. There's chicken in a lot of meals.

OH! And I know Mango! Haha.

We started the day by going out to breakfast. I got a breakfast sandwich which had Bacon (not really bacon, more like ham) and eggs. There was a really delicious sauce on the sandwich which was alot like Ketchup but SO MUCH BETTER! I loved it! There was also Soy Bean Milk which actually had the beans at the bottom... also so very delicious! After breakfast we got bikes (provided from the school, mine is pink-ish) and rode them to the grocery store. Gerald didn't help us at all. He sent us into the store by ourselves and told us to get what we thought we could eat. It was actually really fun. I'm glad I knew what some stuff was because of China and Hawaii though. Haha

Anyway, today we did a little more training and then went sight seeing. We saw a really nice and relaxing park at the point of the mountain (Gerald claims it's a hill). It was really neat. Apparently the idea of relaxation is coming and watching fish. Hmm.... Who knew!?! We also found a pathway of rocks which they use to walk on to massage their feet. I did it, it hurt alot, but then my feet did indeed feel better afterwards. :)

We also saw the statue of the man who tried to create a constitution for China and he and his army got driven out of China and into Taiwan. His name is slipping my mind and I can't find it on Google so I'll have to ask Gerald what it is again. But it was fun hearing about some more history of Taiwan. I've heard alot of history about China but I know little about Taiwan. Good thing I'm learning since I live here!

After the park we went to a Temple. It was very elaborate and bright! It also had many peculiar smells (incense and such) but overall it was very beautiful. I liked the walls the most with the ivory figures which seemed to tell a story. We learned that they put food out as an offering and the spirits of the dead eat the spirit of the fruit. I actually got to see some girls pray to their Gods when I was there. It was very intriguing.

Then we went out to dinner, the Hahu Bakery!!!! It was SO GOOD! I had wanted to go every time we passed it because it was pink and adorable. We finally went and we all loved it! I cannot wait to go again! SO delicious! (The guy behind the counter asked me something in Mandarin and I looked at him like "What?!?!" It made him laugh really hard and he couldn't stop. Haha)

That was the extent of the 2nd day. But it has been alot of fun and I have learned so much. I'm learning a couple of Mandarin phrases, unfortunately I cannot spell them so I cannot tell you which ones they are. Haha

Again thank you for your support! I really am having an amazing experience out here and I am learning so much! I love you all very much!

p.s. I probably won't be able to blog about everyday once I start teaching. But we have until next Friday so... I think we're good til then.

3 2 1 .... TAIWAN!!!!

After packing up my things, and taking a journey to the airport, I began my journey to Taiwan! :) I got the the SLC airport and ended up meeting with four of the girls that were coming with me. (Heather, Kendra, Jessica and Rachel) We all got on the plane and flew to LA. From there, we had to figure out where the International Flight terminal was (while Heather had to run and grab her baggage and then put it on the right flight). We actually started moving past it, but thankfully I ran into Marcus (Kaylee's (ex?) Boyfriend who happened to serve his mission in Taiwan and also had just barely dropped Kaylee off at the right terminal) and he helped us find the right terminal. We found Kaylee, Sara and Veronica there in LA (the other three coming with us). From there we figured out where we were supposed to go and got on the HUGE plane with SO many other people.

My particular seat wasn't very comfortable. There was a large heated box underneath the seat in front of me so I didn't have any leg room (or room for my personal item. So that sat up above me with my carry on item). Plus, the Taiwanese man sitting next to me decided that it was okay to lay all over me and put his legs over by me so... the flight definitely was not my favorite. However, with the Lord's help, I was able to be patient and I ended up sleeping a good 7 hours. The rest of the flight was spent watching Pride and Prejudice on my iPod, watching Kate and Leopold on my computer and reading my Book of Mormon (currently in Helaman by the way and it is great!).

Finally the 13 hour flight ended and we headed to baggage claim. There is a little place you have to go and show them your passport and such, which was fun for me. I accidentally wrote down my Visa number from China (or whatever number that was) instead of my Taiwan Visa so the guy at the counter got a little annoyed with me. Then he read my passport and said "Utah? Oh, Mormon. That explains it." I was a little taken aback and didn't really say anything but XieXie and walked on to baggage claim. It made me laugh. At baggage claim, just as I had feared, one of my bags was lost. (Three other girls lost one of theirs too) But know worries, Heavenly Father answers prayers and prepared a way for us to find our bags! :) Thank you! I was so glad I had all my belongings by the end of the trip.

Then we had to find the Bus. All by ourselves. And none of us speak a lick of mandarin! haha We bought our tickets for 270 Kuai. Our bus driver was also very annoyed we didn't speak any Mandarin. LoL But once again we made it to where we needed to go and Jarold picked us up from the Train station. Jarold is the man who started this school that I will be teaching at. Berhan Language Institute. Anyway, He picked us up and got us situated. Below are pictures of my living arrangements. I share the room with Kaylee and Kendra. They are both amazing

The first thing we did was explore Taiwan. We found a fun park, a delcious place to get Bingsha? Their kinds of fruit smoothies. Bing means Icy and sha (if spelled right) means sandy or crushed up. So... Bingsha! :) The first one I got was Watermelon Juice. SO GOOD! (Something cool: instead of plastic lids, they have these thin coverings on top of all the drinks. You poke a hole through the top and then you're set! It's really cool! I like them) The park was very fun and very beautiful. (There was a shrubbery maze!) The Taiwanese people definitely know how to make things look beautiful. They care more and actually take care of everything really well.

So far, this has been the start of an amazing journey. I'm really excited to see what else is out there and I cannot wait to see it! There will be even more posts about great and amazing places and people. But for now, this is all! I am going grocery shopping and such in the near future, so that will probably be the next post. :)

I miss you all and love you very much!

Thank you for all your support.

- Kylie