A few days ago marked marked a month in my Taiwanese saga! Looking back, it’s incredible how quickly time has passed. I’m well aware how cliché it may sound, but time truly does fly when you’re having fun. I’ve been so busy that I’ve neglected my blog, something I had hoped to make a weekly project. Seeing as I missed last week’s post, I’m going to make this one snippets of my life from the past two weeks.

Scenes from the Dream Mall

Kaohsiung is a prime area for shopping. Not only are there the various night markets, but there area also countless malls. Seriously, I’ve been to about five so far, and I’m certain there are more. Kaohsiung is home to the biggest mall in East Asia (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Mall). The Dream Mall has a ferris wheel on top as well as various theme park games.

The Dream Mall was similar to the rest of the malls here in Kaohsiung. The biggest difference was its massive size.

One of the highlights of the mall was its food court. It had any type of food you could want (though, let’s be honest, mall food is 太貴了). I got some Mexican food that was actually pretty comparable to Tex-Mex in the US.

Here are some other pictures from the mall and views of the surrounding area!

Scenes from a Mountain and Kaohsiung Beach ( 西子灣)

Last weekend, my host family and I went to a mountain here in 高雄! The drive was pretty scary, honestly. The roads were thin, and there was a constant stream of cars rushing up and down the mountain. The views were well worth the uncomfortable ride.

Scenes from aMountain

After the ride up the mountain, we headed down to the surrounding beach. One of the many perks of being a 外國人 in Asia, is that you can basically get away with anything (as long as it isn’t murder).

There was a beach we wanted to visit, but the prices to enter were a bit steep. Rather than pay the fee, we walked through the lobby of an adjacent hotel right onto the beach. Nobody looked twice as we walked through the workers setting up for a wedding. Nor did anyone say anything when we walked right onto the beach without paying.

We arrived just before sunset, so the view was breathtaking. Camera in hand, I walked all along the beach snapping pictures. Here are a few of my favorites:

Scenes from the Black Sand Beach

Sugar Cane Factory Tour

One of the perks of being an international student at Wenzao Ursuline College of Language is free trips provided by the Center of Chinese Language (CCL). During these trips, we visit different parts of Taiwan and learn about their history. We recently visited an old sugar cane factory. Honestly, I found the tour boring. One of the great things about the trip, however, was meeting a lot of the internationl students. They come from all over the world, and one fascinating thing is that our “mutual language” is Chinese. I was talking to a Vietnamese student who did not know Chinese, so we had to struggle to communicate in Chinese! It’s so interesting, and I really enjoy it!

Fun Fact: the Chinese word for “sugar cane” is 甘蔗, which phonetically is “gan1zhe4" which sounds like the English slang word “ganja.” It took me some time to realize we weren’t, in fact, talking about marijuana.

On the same trip, we visited a museum about some egg product that is popular here. Honestly, even if the tour were in English, I don’t think I would have understood the point of the eggs. Regardless, the trip was fun, and we got to boil our own eggs! Here are some pleasantly awkward photos from the trip!

Scenes from Taipei and the Surrounding Area

This past weekend (10/4–10/5), my host family and I made the trek to Taipei! It was an exciting trip filled with much sightseeing. The trip began with a quick ride on Taiwan’s High Speed Rail! From Kaohsiung (the southernmost stop on the HSR) to Taipei is etiher an 90min to 120min ride depending on how many stops the train makes. The view of the countryside/cities was amazing, and the train ride itself was incredibly comfortable.

I also took photos along the ride. Here are a few:

Scenes from Taipei Day 1

On the first day, after our two hour train ride, one of my host parent’s friends picked us up and drove us to some of the areas outside of the main city. The drive was fantastic. Here, the highways and mountains intertwine. The higher we drove, the more clearly I could see the ocean. I have always loved water, and I was so eager to see the Pacific up close.

After a long drive, we arrived at the town of Fulong where, after a quick lunch, rented bicycles. Bicycle riding as a leisure activity is common here. As a rule, us American NSLI-Y students are not allowed to ride bikes within Kaohsiung because it is incredibly dangerous. This was my first time riding a bike since coming to Taiwan, and it felt amazing!

One of the amazing things about the bike path’s tunnel. About halfway through the ride, we arrived at an abanonded trail tunnel that had been converted into a bike path. It was over a mile long. So cool.

After the bike ride, we drove to Pingxi. Pingxi is known for paper lanterns that, after being decorated, are sent into the air. It was fun to make and send off to the sky!

Scenes from Taipei Day 2

After a long rest in our Hot Spring Hotel, we headed out to explore the city. Our hotel was in the hot spring area of Taipei, so there was an actual hot spring really close that we got to walk around! Having never seen one before, I thought it was fantastic.

The next picture has a kind of funny story behind it. We wanted a ‘family photo’ near the hot spring, and I decided that I would be the one to ask. I saw white people and approached them to ask. They were rambling away in rapid French, so I decided to ask them to take our photo in French. They seemed a little confused. I think they were probably like -“Why is this white boy with an American accent talking to us in French? And why is he with these Asian people? What is going on?” They obliged, took the photo, and then asked me to take one of them. It was a bizarre interaction, so I naturally enjoyed it.

I also found it harder than normal to communicate in French. Now, my French is still pretty elementary, but with focusing so much on Chinese here, I genuinely struggle to come up with the right sentence order and vocabulary in French. When they asked me to take the picture, my immediate thought was “我可以” rather than “d’accord” or something to that effect. I’m curious to see where my French stands after a year of studying Chinese. It’s a bittersweet feeling to struggle with French here. It means that I’m prioritizing Chinese in my mind, which is most definitely to my benefit. On the other hand, it feels a bit like losing a first love. I know I can always rekindle that relationship, though, so I’m not too down about it.

After the walk around the hot spring, we proceeded to a shopping district in Taipei. Taipei is far more crowded than Kaohsiung, and the shopping area was the most crowded place in Taiwan I have visited thusfar.

I ended up purchasing the most amazing shirt I’ve ever bought. I currently don’t have a photo, but it’s bound to show up on here later; I plan on wearing it a lot. I also bought a pair of incredibly Asian pants that I can’t wait to wear!

I’ve heard the juxtaposition between Taipei and New York City before, and I must admit that it was distinctly less foreign than Kaohsiung. The pace of life was quicker, the crowds were larger, and the overal feeling of the city was more like NYC. In a few weeks, I’m returning to Taipei, and I am eager to explore more of the massive city!

Also, whenever we hopped on the HSR to head back to Kaohsiung, I was genuinely looking forward to going “home.” It still feels odd to be living in Taiwan, but I think the feeling of leaving and returning “home” really shows that I’ve settled in more. Mentally, I view my current residence as an actual home rather than a temporary living space.

A Little Note About Celebrating My Birthday Overseas

First off, thank you all for the wonderful birthday snapchats, emails and Facebook posts. Because of MSMS, I haven’t actually been at home for my birthday for the past two years. Being away is now the norm. However, I still appreciate the love and support for everyone on this day!

My birthday has been very wonderful here in Taiwan. My host parents and I had shrimp friend rice (one of my favorites) for dinner, and then we had cake. When I blew out my candle. they told me to wish three times-twice aloud, and once to myself. It was a tradition I’d never heard, though I’m sure somebody in America does it.

My first wish was to make a 100 on my quiz tomorrow (lame, I know, but 100s are always nice), and my second was to become good at Chinese. The third I’ll keep to myself, of course. “If you say it aloud, it won’t come true.”