University Graduation Trip -Fulong!

To wrap up second semester at my language university, I traveled with 30 foreigners who are classmates in Chinese, to a place called Fulong, in Northeastern Taiwan.

We hopped on our tour bus in the morning and drove an hour to Fulong. My language university has a wide variety of foreigners learning Chinese and living here for periods of time, just like me. I was the only American in a mix of Vietnamese, Japanese, English, Australian, French, South American, Thai and Indonesian. That morning, we arrived  in Fulong for a bike ride.  There were some fun tunnels to go through to get a break from the morning heat. Very necessary! It was a nice way to start the morning.  This was a Taiwanese organized trip, so of course in just one hour, hundreds of pictures were taken, many of which look a lot alike. The time we take to set a picture up, go through what seems hundreds of cameras, and finally get a picture is truly incredible. It quite an experience and I can tell you that my patience level has grown leaps and bounds from just these picture taking moment alone!

It is days like these that I remember how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to come across the world and learn Chinese here in Taiwan, and meet all the great friends who I have at the university. I often forget, until I lay in bed at night and realize that I didn't speak to one person who speaks American English as their native language or that looks like me. This experience is incredible and really fun!

After biking, we headed to lunch by the riverside. For lunch, we had Fulong's famous "biandang", which means lunch box in Chinese. The Taiwanese eat these everyday for lunch and on occasion for dinner too. It is a little cardboard box that is sectioned of to put rice, vegetables, meat, egg, and other food items. I  don't really enjoy them because the Taiwanese cook with a lot of oil.  The vegetables, meat, eggs, and the rest just don't taste good to me after being cooked in all the oil. In the beginning of my exchange I was able to try it and find the joy in eating it, but I am now bored of it and try and pick out the few things I can eat in every box! I think of it as a scavenger hunt...find the healthiest food and then make sure it is not oiled out.

Once finished eating, we headed out to the river for some kayaking! We were able to play some fun games in the water and just ride around the river. Fulong has a famous sand castle building contest that was happening while we were there, so we were able to see some of the creations. Of course, we had a hard downpour of rain while we were in the river! Seems to be a daily event in Taiwan. But, overall it was really fun to just enjoy the water and end the day with a fun activity.

Thank you to all the great friends I have met over my year taking Chinese classes. I have enjoyed getting to know you using one common language!

IT IS HOT....REALLY HOT!

The temperature, it is HOT...HOT...no....REALLY HOT! These past two weeks have felt like my first couple months in Taiwan. The high humidity is back, and the weather is just HOT! I wake up in the morning in a sweat and my skin is sticky. After getting dressed, brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, and packing my school bag, you would probably look at me and say "Anna, did you just get in a good workout? You are really working up a sweat!" My morning apple is a struggle to get down. Eating is just the last thing I feel like doing when it is hot, sticky, and wet out. My run in the morning really puts the sweat into overkill! It is like this until about noon and then the downpour of rain begins. Everyday at noon for the past two weeks, the sun disappears and the biggest downpour of rain starts. Acid rain, humidity, phew....it's good! Top all of that with probably at least ten new bug bites in a day, I FEEL GOOD! I look at the amount of sweat that pours out of my body and the amount of water that I am drinking as a great cleanse and the rain and overall weather an adventure and an experience everyday !

OK...I am going to go fill my water bottle and put my head in the fan for a sec! :)

Jiufen

I recently spent the day with my two RYE friends, Connor (from USA) and Rike (from Germany), at the famous old street Jiufen! We met at the main MRT station here in Taipei in the morning and took a bus to our destination. I enjoy taking busses every now and again, because they are cheaper then taking the train, they give you time to see the outside surroundings, and just sit back for awhile without having to rush and worry about transferring or the large number of people around you.

We arrived in Jiufen in perfect time for a little snack. Connor, Rike, and I are big fans of the red bean soup Taipei and often meet up just to try a new restaurant that has it. We had done some research before  and discovered a famous old restaurant at this location that had it. The restaurant was located at the very end of the old street, tucked away in a shop. It had no sign, and looked like a big workshop for food. We ordered our red bean soup with our add-in's of sweetened sweet potato balls and taro balls. Then,  worked our way around the many people sitting on stools peeling sweet potatos, rolling the balls, and washing dishes. It was raining so the nice warm bowl hit the spot! I am an expert on this dish now and am looking forward to making it in the USA soon.

Once we finished our lunch, it was time for some shopping! The three of us all had important items that needed to be purchased at this particular old street that is known for it's traditional Taiwanese goods.  This was a perfect time to pick up these items to bring home to our countries.  The items we each purchased are things we often use in Taiwan, and over the course of this year have become quite knowledgeable and have strong opinions about these things. Being able to look at an item, pick it up, and either know that it is good, bad, fits my preference, or the price is right is really cool! The things I am bringing home are a surprise to some reading, so I don't want to say what I purchased, however I am very happy with my purchases!


After we finished our shopping, we had lunch at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant. We ordered some noodles, rice, vegetables, tofu and egg, and some fish ball soup to share. I think one of the hardest adjustments I will have returning to the USA, is getting used to the price of things. Everything we ordered at lunch for the three of us to share, cost less in Taiwan than one entrée in the USA would cost. All together, our food cost 175NT which in USD is the equivalent to $5.85. CRAZY, when you think about it!

After lunch, we purchased a famous ice cream wrap! The outside is like a crepe, but it is a very special wrapping. Inside the wrap there is shaved sweetened nuts, one scoop of taro ice, one scoop of mango ice, and mint. It is very light and nice! We then headed back to Taipei by bus and finished our night with a small dinner at Sushi Express! A nice day spent with good friends!

Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language / Education Journey

If you know me well, you probably know that I stress about tests and I will push myself hard to find perfection in all my work. But this year, my work has been incredibly different.  I have written before, learning Chinese has been an incredible journey. It is the most exciting, happy time in my day, it is what gets me through to the next day, and it truly makes me glow. Every Chinese class, I am faced with challenges, some days more than others. Monday through Friday I spend my mornings in class, followed by high school, where I study on my own for four hours, I come home and have to, but willingly, speak Chinese with my host family when it is necessary, and every week I am given a test. It is true -when you are passionate about something, you will work harder and the results mean more in the end. I do not expect perfection from myself and I do my best to realize my knowledge and areas for improvement. Not only have I learned an immense amount about myself through doing this, but also about the way I look at education.

This year, I have not taken one math class, one history class, one science class, and the list could go on. I have taken one class- Chinese class. I am taking this class because I want to take this class. Not because I am required to. I have taken a huge leap this year.  Learning a new language and not being sure at this time where it will take me in the future, I am loving the process. This is when I cannot help but reflect on the education system in the US. I can't remember a time when my classmates or I were not trying to get an A. The A was what everybody wanted, but it didn't necessarily mean that you understood or it was your honest work. This frustrates me now. Students take the SAT and the ACT and the AP classes all trying to get into college. Looking at it from the outside now, it is a bit crazy. When people ask me what it is I want to do when I am finished with high school or what I am going to do when I head back to the US, I honestly have no answer. For now, I am enjoying the learning path I am on and will continue in my mindset when I head back to the US.

Saturday May 4, I took the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language. This test is a government based test, created for foreigners to test their language proficiency. As I sat for the test, the youngest, in a room full of foreigners from all around the world, the only thing on my desk was my United States of America passport.  I was overwhelmed with pride. It truly was an awesome feeling! I was sitting to take an important MANDARIN CHINESE test, and I didn't feel nervous, rather I was super excited. The Vietnamese boy sitting next to me looked at me and smiled while I typed my user name and password into the computer to begin the test.  I could not type fast enough!  Just imagine the feeling. Typing my feelings now, I just received the same happy, giddy, proud feeling back!

I tested Level 1 and Level 2 listening and reading Chinese. Both tests went well and after receiving my results, I learned that I passed both tests! Meaning, I have successfully learned Level 1 and Level 2 and I am currently preparing Level 3! I am so happy with my results and I look forward to working hard these next two months on improving my Chinese even more.  :)

A Trip to COSTCO!

COSTCO in Taiwan...who knew! COSTCO is the Taiwanese's favorite place and favorite thing to talk about it. I remember my first days in Taiwan and my host family had just purchased items from the superstore and were talking about it with their friends. Since then, I heard about COSTCO all the time and I was continuously asked about it. Hearing about it just made me want to go check it out and see what the Taiwanese were raving about! So, when my South Korean friend needed to make a trip and asked me if I wanted to join, I didn't hesitate. Finally, April 29, 2013 I headed to the Taiwan COSTCO!

After class, my two South Korean friends, my Chinese teacher, and I headed by bus and MRT to the store. When we hopped off the bus, I immediately saw the big white building with red and blue letters. Shopping carts lined the outside, and on a Monday afternoon, the line was out the door. We ate first, struggling to find a seat. The menu is the same as all COSTCO's I have ever been to, but with an extra mango ice cream and some soup because the Taiwanese to finish every meal with soup. My teacher and friends really enjoy eating American food. Therefore, they really pigged out on pizza. I don't really miss American food too much, so I went with some ice cream instead. As I watched the Taiwanese, push their carts through the scanner I honestly became a little bit nervous for what was about to occur on this shopping experience!

We showed our card, and began riding the magic carpet to the second level of the store. We went right through because this was where they sold clothes, T.V.'s, small pools, small parks, books, small children's cars, etc. All items that I looked at, then looked around me at all the Taiwanese with their carts overflowing, remembered where I am living, and then just cocking my head to the side in deep thought about where they put these HUGE items when they buy them?!

After trying not to focus too much thought on where people will put their purchases, we then headed down the magic carpet to the food section. Nobody can say that they don't secretly make a trip to COSTCO to not try the samples, right? Everybody does! The food was so similar to the US, but with a little twist. From the various types of breads and bagels, to the wide range of meats, cheeses (haven't seen in a long time!), and other various items that you see in that section of COSTCO. Then, there was the coffee, cereal ice cream, and just so much more. But, since we are in Asia, they have a wide range of Asian items to choose from. Things from Korea, like their spicy noodles, banana milk, Kimchi, or seaweed snack. Or other products from Thailand that I have come to love in this year.

From the Taiwanese filled carts, to being squeezed between people due to sheer number of people in the store, to the excitement on the Taiwanese faces as they purchased their items, and really just being in COSTCO in Taiwan I was ready for some fresh air! I didn't need or want to purchase anything as I do live in a very small apartment here and I would be taking public transportation home. Once we left, I headed to my South Korean's friend home. She made some Korean tea, and some famous spicy noodles with Kimchi for myself and our other Korean friend. It was a really nice way to finish of the trip to COSTCO! Thank you!