First Week!

First week...and what a week it was! Before I left on this journey, I was given a little book about dreams from a family friend. Inside is this quote, "If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it." -William Arthur Ward. I have imagined my exchange year for some time now and I am now creating my "exchange year" every day I am here in Taipei. I have dreamt of what I will become during my exchange year. I believe right now, I am becoming more successful everyday in terms of immersing myself, learning, and embracing the culture! A pretty great feeling, I am so lucky to have! 

 My late arrival on Monday night and no sleep on my plane rides over here, made Tuesday very long but an exciting day! By the time I got to sleep on Monday, it was about 12:00 a.m. here and despite being really tired, I could not get my body to sleep. I decided I would get out of bed and begin unpacking my bags instead of forcing myself to sleep. My room is very small, however, it is perfect for me. I love it! My room has a bed, desk, a temporary closet, a mirror, some drawers for clothing, a fan and air conditioning to keep me cool! It is really hot and humid here right now!  I also have my own bathroom which is nice and not common for Taiwan.  Being my somewhat organizational self, I have my routine already for keeping my areas clean and in order. Feels like home!

My first host family is great! In my little apartment there is my host mom Angel, who I call Homa, my host dad Alan, who I call Homba, and me. They have a son named Andy who is 15 years old.  Andy is on exchange in Pennsylvania right now. The three of us work really well together and we have already created great relationships.  I think this is because 1. They are very nice.  2.  They do not speak really any English, so I have had to force myself and try really hard to learn and speak with them (Very grateful for this! My Chinese class in the US has really come in handy!), and 3. They enjoy having fun and being with each other!

I have spent a lot of time with my host mom doing normal things that she would do. She took me to the market and we bought some fresh fruit, and she insisted on purchasing me a dress that she saw! She loves to shop. Every clothing store we walk by they all wave. I asked her if she knows them and she said I am V.I.P. Ha! One of my most favorite things so far this week being here in Taiwan and with this family is the fact that they have taken me in as their daughter and made me feel apart of the family. From night one I was not a guest in their home, but rather their daughter and they want me to live like them. I do, and it is really comforting! Sometimes though it is as if I am the newborn baby daughter because they like to show me off - take me to dinner and invite all their friends. Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night consisted of exactly this. Fishing for my own dinner and then cooking my items  minutes later, meeting friend after friend, and trying to keep my eyes open, made for a unique experience in Taiwan!

In Taiwan, it seems that everyone stays out late, therefore wakes up late, eats breakfast late, then gets ready for their day and goes out for their morning activites. While out, they eat lunch, then they come home and take a nice nap, then they are back out again for late afternoon activities, which then leads into a late night of dinner. Or at least this is how most of my first week days went. I asked my Homa if this was common and she said yes! The staying out late is taking some getting used to and for me it is hard to do every night.  The naps are something that I do not do,  but have found another way to spend the "naptime". I don't think that besides sleeping, I have been in my house for more than three hours at a time this entire week! Crazy! 

On Thursday, my host mom had to go to work at the bakery and my host dad also had to do some business. They told me on Wednesday that I would stay home for the day. I didn't really like the idea of staying in the house all day so I took the chance and asked my host mom if there was a gym near by. She didn't know the word gym but she looked it up in her little English/Chinese GameBoy looking thing. When she found it, her face instantly shot up with a huge smile and she told me that in the afternoon she would take me to see the gym! We walked to the gym and she showed me around. OK. Let me just say WOW! Talk about a gym on steroids! Four large floors of recreational activities. Inline skating, golf, swimming, yoga, spinning, squash, badminton, basketball (I asked where Jermey Lin was and they laughed! Ha!), fitness area, and more. It was crazy! For me this was the perfect place to go when I wake up early as always, am waiting for my day to begin with friends or family. I do think however that I need to tone down my pink workout outfit because everyone watches my every move in the gym and the women follow me! I act like I don't know what is going on and just keep smiling! It works all the time!  So, on Thursday I walked to the gym all by myself in crazy typhoon weather. Talk about hard rain, humidity, and umbrellas blowing!  It would have been a good idea to wear my rainboots that day.

On Friday, I spent the day at my family's bakery with my host mom. We practiced Chinese for me and English for her while we baked breads and wrapped them as they came out of the oven. It was interesting to see all of the ingredients and the different baked items for sale at a traditional Taiwanese bakery! I also improved my Chinese a lot that day. I am counting to 100 now, I can say almost every vegetable and meat I eat, and I can tell people my age, name, where I live, what my home is like, where I am going, sometimes what I am doing, and I can catch words that my Taiwanese friends say in their conversations. It is coming along and everyday when I learn new words, I repeat, and repeat so that I will remember. My host mom and dad's English is improving also. We both get good laughs from each other when they cannot pronounce letters in English and I mess up the words and phrases here! At least we can laugh and try again the next time! During the time I spent at the bakery, I also had the opportunity to meet many of their friends and so many family members. Everyone is so nice and very welcoming!

Throughout the week I experienced Rotary,  Taipei style! My first Rotary meeting, my orientation, and dinner at my third host fathers house - a surprise from the entire Rotary club for me. Pretty cool! That is the picture below!  Rotary Club Taipei Tung-Ho and I really are a match made in heaven. We work so well together and the members in it are just a really big cherry on top of it all. I love all of their unique personalities and I am especailly thankful for their kindness towards me! I know I am an "extra" part of their life right now and for them to graciously open their lives to me means a whole lot.

Yesterday,  I spent my day with a RYE student Lauren from Australia and some ROTEX students. ROTEX are the students who have previously gone on exchange and are now back in their own country. We took the MRT (subway) to Ximen. Ximen is a cool little part of Taipei that has a lot to offer in terms of food, shopping, and fun. We went there for some traditional Taiwanese ice cream. Taiwanese ice cream is shaved cream ice, a scoop of American ice cream, and a whole bunch of fresh fruit! Talk about a true delight on a hot and humid day here in Taipei! Ahh! I also took the MRT by myself this day and I didn't get lost! I had to transfer from line to line which was a little intimidating at first, but by the end of the day I felt so proud of myself for doing it. Besides being in New York, subway systems and bus systems are not something that are a part of my life. It is a great way of travel though, and it will be a very big part of my life this next year! I do look forward to one day getting lost, and then figuring it out - and of course smiling when I arrive to Liuzhangli station as I did today! That night I went out dinner again with my family and everybody! When I say everybody, I mean all their friends and all of my host dads "brothers" from their brotherhood. So many different people coming together to eat, eat some more, laugh, and eat more! Plate after plate, and friend after friend. Everyone just shuffles in! It is crazy to say the least. Ha! A part of their culture that is very interesting to me and something I am still gettting used to.

Even though I have been here for only a week, I feel as if I have been here for a month! I have been on so many unique little adventures, I have experienced many new things, I have met new friends from different countries and have a place to call home with three families, and add to that - I am improving my Chinese everyday! I am experiencing something new in this culture everyday- every hour (I mean literally!), hence I am finding myself growing in many ways and learning an immense amount. My pillow and bed feel like heaven every night that I crawl in after my long and exciting days. Ha! To think about being here for a year is a crazy feeling. To know that I am comfortable after one week and to know that I experienced and grew a lot this week, makes the feeling maybe even crazier, but all for the good in the end!

I decided to take the day to myself today and hangout with my host family, blog, and just let it be an easy day so I can re-boot for the coming week! Actually just went for a walk around my town and bumped into my Australian friend! Ha! Finished my day by spending the afternoon and dinner with my host family and then a nice walk in the park with my host mom.

I cannot believe a week has already gone by! Just emphasizes the need to seize every moment! I look forward to many more exciting adventures and experiences in the next months of my life! Thank you to D5470, Vail/Edwards Rotary Clubs, friends, and especially my family for the love and support over this time in my life! I love you very much!

Anna 

RYE, District 3520, Inbound Orientation!

WOW! Today was a very long and exhausting day but overall a great day! Rotary Youth Exchange, District 3520, Inbound Orientation is when all of the students whose district exchanges with D3520, come together-meet for the first time, and experience a day full of many growing and learning times!

At 8:30 a.m, my host mom and I walked to National Taipei University of Education which is located about 15 minutes from my house. This is where the orientation was held and also where I will be attending my Mandarin Chinese language classes starting in October. As we arrived to the university, I saw many many Rotary International Flags that were guiding a path to a room where I would spend the next two hours completing important business. Important business equals passport things, insurance things, money things, and receiving my RYE, D3520 Taipei, Taiwan shirt. It was definitely high stress at times however it all went smoothly for me. Oh wait, I didn't mention that there was no air conditioning, it is REALLY hot and humid here, and I had to wear my RYE blazer! No big deal...I wasn't sweating at all! Ha!

After I finished, I was directed up to a room where there was a stage and all of the flags of my fellow in bounders were located. Right when I walked into the room I saw a face that I recognized. This face was Ruby Chu! Ruby Chu is from Taiwan and she was on exchange last year in Minnesota. My friend Tayla Boucher from South Africa, who is also on exchange in Minnesota introduced me to her through Facebook and SKYPE! Ha! Rotary is a small world! Next, I was told to try on a traditional Taiwanese outfit to get a correct size - do not exactly know why yet though. Then, another rebound student from Taiwan showed me to my seat. We had assigned seating, meaning all the students from the same country sit together. There are 44 inbound students from all over the world here in District 3520 in 2012-13. USA, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Japan, Australia, South Africa, France, Germany, Denmark, and Hungary!

The ceremony officially began! Presidents and chair men and women gave their opening remarks and kind words as always! The ceremony consisted of each country going up one by one and then each student, one by one would introduce themselves, exchange their banner, and take a picture (they LOVE pictures!). It was very nice! One of the best things - out of the many great things that Rotary has to offer, is the opportunity and opportunities that they give to we RYE students to come together and share our worlds with each other. The other students here right now with me, are truly the only ones who know what emotions and adventures I have been experiencing here. We are going through many similar things and to be able to know that it is really OK to feel the way I feel hour to hour or day to day is nice. We might all be from different countries, different walks of life, we might speak different languages but we really do have a unique connection! Some of the students are kids that I would probably never approach or think they would be my friend. But when we come together and JUST TALK it feels right! There is nothing like Rotary!

Later in the day I had to take more pictures for cards, eat lunch, learn more about Rotary and Taiwan, and take examinations for the Chinese language - which were super hard but hopefully will be much easier by the end of the year. At 5:00 p.m. we were released! I had to be home by 5:30 because my host family and I were heading up to the mountains where my third host mom and dad live. I walked home really fast and made it home with a little time to spare! I have actually found getting around in Taipei is very easy. I remember my ways around and my Chinese just in case I get lost! Ha! When I got home I had a little time, so I put my pins on my blazer and the other students business cards in my folder. Then we left for dinner! I will write about dinner in an upcoming blog so please look forward to it!

Thank you Rotary for making today a great day! Your time and hard work today surely did pay off. Thank you! I am showered up and now ready for my pillow and bed!

More soon!

Anna

My First Rotary Meeting

Tonight I went to my very first Rotary meeting in Taipei at my host club - Taipei Tung Ho Rotary Club! It was very exciting! The meetings are run very similar to my sponsor clubs - Vail and Edwards Rotary. However, at the Rotary meetings here everyone is dressed to the nines. I mean seriously! The men wear suits and the women all look as though they are going to a wedding. I love it!

In the car ride to the Golden China Hotel, my host mom and dad and I practiced saying in Chinese "Hi! How are you? My name is Anna. Here is my business card. Thank you for yours! It was very nice to meet you!" Over and over again, I said "Ni hao. Ni hao ma? Wo jiao Anna. Jian huan, mieng ping. Xie Xie ni. Hen gao xing jian dao ni."  Saying the sentence all together and fast like they do takes practice though. By the end of the night I had become an expert at saying this (I will never forget how!), I received many business cards (not all Rotarian's had theirs), and most important began relationships with the Rotarian's at dinner! 

Dinner consisted of a large buffet, all you can eat. It was all very good! The thing is though, in Taipei everybody eats A LOT. After my first plate I was full - something I think is normal. They all tell me every meal I am with them, you eat too little. You need to get big and strong. Meanwhile, they are on their third plate almost ready for their fourth. If I ate like this here three meals a day, everyday, for an entire year I will assure you I could possibly be majorly obese when I come back to the states. As much as I am embracing myself in the delicious cuisine and their culture, I will not be eating like this! Ha!

While eating my host dad made the daily announcements and had other members come up and talk about their guest or make a speech about a certain topic. Another exchange student from Texas and I were told to introduce ourselves to the club. Very nice! Two boys from Taiwan gave their presentation on their exchange years in Canada and Missouri!

When all the important business was finished, my host dad put on a magic show for everybody! In the afternoon, my host dad told me that today was Valentine's Day in Taiwan so he would do something special tonight at dinner. He does not speak very good English so when he came and told me this he kept on saying "Wo ay ni!" which means I love you. I didn't understand why at first but then he pointed to my calender on the wall and said love day. Then he said that he and I were going to go to the general market to get love items and things for the magic show!

Final product with all of the purchased items!

Overall my first Rotary meeting at Taipei Tung Ho was very successful! Thank you for being my host club D3520!

Anna

Taipei I'm Here!

I arrived in Taipei, Taiwan last night, after a very long and emotional day of traveling! I was greeted by my host mother Angel, who I call Home Ma, my host father who I call Home Ba, my host grandmother, my counselor's daughter, my next host family's dad, the president of Rotary, and Adrian. They had a big red sign that said my full name on it! Hugs, smiles, their broken English, and my broken Chinese, was a great kick off to my exchange year in Taiwan! Thank you to my host families, and members of Rotary Club of Taipei Tung Ho, for making my welcome a very memorable one!

I am very excited and grateful for the many exciting experiences and adventures I will be involved in the next year of my life especially because I am able to share them with all of you back home! Thank you Mom, Dad, and Zach for loving me and supporting me throughout my life and this journey. By far the hardest goodbye I have ever had to say, but surely the first step into an exciting year! I will miss you all so much! Love you!
Anna