我會很想念你們!!!! (I'll miss you all!!!)

So I have 4 more days left...WHAT?! Ok, so that's crazy. I feel like I should have longer. Don't get me wrong, I am SUPER excited to get home and see my family, my dogs (including the new one) and see my not-yet-born niece, but I'll miss people and places and things. I'll miss hearing Chinese all the time and surprising the speakers when I understand what is going on. I'll miss being surrounded by beautiful Asian people everywhere I go and the funny looks that sometimes come with them. I'll miss adorable 老闆s (store owners) in the cafeteria, especially the very attractive drink store 老闆 ;). I'll miss the amazing friends I have made here and the places I have been with them. I'll miss soo much.

In the orientation I had to go to before I came here, they talked to us about "reverse culture shock." Which is just the culture shock you get when you get back to your own country. The last couple of times this didn't happen, but I feel like it is going to happen much more this time around. I have been gone for almost 5 months so I'd like to think I'm a little different. I've learned some life lessons and learned some new things about myself. One of the biggest differences I will experience when I get back is not being around Stephanie 24/7. We aren't roommates (which is probably a very good thing), but if we aren't doing homework/sleeping we are probably together. We are so alike it's crazy (except for the fact that she is studious-I'm lazy and other little things that happened because she is Asian), most of the time we don't have to say much of anything and we know what each other is thinking. She is one of the first people that I have let my guard and filter completely down for. So, when I go home and I say random crazy things that don't seem to be something I would normally say, you can thank her for that :) She helped me realize how much fun it is to be me without filters. I still have moments when I don't talk much, and the first time I meet people, I still don't speak much, but I have a feeling that won't change. The only thing that will really change is how much I keep myself from saying when things pop into my head.

Another huge thing I'm going to miss is the amazing public transportation!! You can just hop on the MRT and get pretty much anywhere in Taipei. Or the train goes to the main cities throughout Taiwan. Getting around without a car isn't too bad. I'll miss it. I'll also miss the people who have given me rides so I don't have to use public transportation. Like this kid named Chris who is super nice and is wonderfully sarcastic. He has helped us out sooo much. He took us to the airport when we went to Hong Kong and he is taking us to the airport at 6:30 am when we go home. He really is tons of fun.

Despite all the things I'll miss, I definitely think it's time to go back home. Although, when I get home I need to find a job, and I have no clue what that will be, but it will work itself out. Then, a year later, I'll come back here to study some more, probably for only about 3 years. Those are the tentative plans, we'll see what God actually has in store for me.

If I don't write again...see you all soon!!!

PS...No, I didn't find myself a beautiful Asian man (or not so beautiful) and fall in love. Sorry for the disappointment or the lose of any bets :)

Why is it always so awkward?...but I love it!

I realized as I was looking back through my posts, it was all telling you about what I do. Which if I don't now I will probably forget by the time I see you. But actually the things that I have enjoyed the most, I don't think I have actually written it down. They aren't adventures, they are the awkward situations I some how find myself in and the many life lessons I have stumbled upon.

First, I'll tell you about the awkwardness that surrounds my life in Asia...
I think it was the day of the Cheerleading competition, Stephanie and I were taking the bus back from the stadium and we saw this kid with crazy hair and an awesome watch. Well, Stephanie thought he was attractive, but we didn't see him again for awhile. Needless to say, it was a little disappoint, but one day I was having lunch with my Buddy at a little restaurant on campus that hides beside the gym and guess who was working?...None other than bus boy. From that point on we saw him EVERYWHERE. Really, it was crazy. This wouldn't have been so awkward, if 1) I didn't feel the need to acknowledge his presence since we interacted a little and 2)Stephanie didn't freak out a little every time she saw him. So, combine those two and you get me laughing every time I see this guy and because I want to be polite I acknowledge his presence, but with laughter. I'm pretty sure Stephanie avoided eye contact, and he may not have even remembered me, but that is what happened every time I saw him. Then eventually Stephanie got over it, but he still made me laugh...especially the one time Stephanie and I were walking up the bleachers and I said "I think my butt is numb" (we had been sitting for a while) and he and his friends walked around the corner, and by the way he speaks English. I asked him when he was taking my order that one day. Ohh the awkwardness which made laugh...a lot. Poor guy probably thinks some random white chick has a crush on him. But he did bring amusement to our lives :) Anyway, I haven't seen him for a while, but hopefully one last awkward moment before we leave.

Most of my other awkward moments can be put into one little category, the "Whoa...she's white!" category. They come from the looks I get as I am walking around. I don't always catch them, in fact mostly I don't notice them anymore. Stephanie, however likes to tell me all about them, especially the super good ones. They definitely are good for my ego, I don't know what I'm going to do when I go back and blend in and don't get the "What was that?" look. In fact some of them are super cute, like little kids (once a mother actually told her daughter not to stare - very nice of her) and old people (they look so perplexed hehe). But there are some...well lets just say I could do without them. Like the other day a group of 30-40ish year old guys walked by and they all looked at me, without even trying to hide it, definitely a little creepy. Looks that people try to hide are definitely more polite and far less creepy.

Other awkward moments have happened, but those usually lead to life lessons. That is for another day...

Love you all!! Promise I'm still praying for you all even if I haven't communicated in 2 months!

I disappeared...but I'm back!

SORRY!! I haven't written in...2 months? I promise, you haven't missed much. Most of that time was spent working on my Senior Thesis. I had to write 10 pages in English, 10 pages in Chinese, make a 15 minute presentation, write a song, and sing three songs (including the song I wrote)...which I am sure most everyone has seen this performance, thank you mother! (I say that with only a hint of sarcasm) So for a while that was pretty much all I did. The last time I think I talked about being frustrated with the ever changing Chinese class...I honestly don't really remember, but if it was, everything turned out good! I loved my Chinese class! There were 3 people from Africa, 2 Vietnamese kids, 1 German, 1 British guy (when he decided he wanted to show up), and then me and Stephanie. Everyone was really funny and tons of fun. We went out to celebrate Stephanie's birthday and it ended in a cake cream fight...poor Stephanie got it all up in her hair. Haha. Our teacher is also wonderful. She is a really good teacher, but she has a habit of saying "do you understand" repeatedly, except it is in Chinese obviously. And this is at 8:30/9:00 in the morning and we all know how much of a morning person I am...I stayed pleasant most of the time though...Momma would be so proud :) I'm talking about this in past tense because it already ended which is sad, but now I can sleep in. Yay for sleep!!

Anyway, after i finished my senior thesis, I still couldn't really go on adventures because Stephanie still had a lot of MCAT stuff to get done and I didn't want to leave her all alone so I discovered a website that had tons of movies on it...that was a bad idea. All my motivation to get things done for my classes just kind of disappeared and I watched a lot of movies. It took a good week and a half to find it again. Actually, it took a trip to Taipei, I think we went to the zoo, to get me going again. I think I was just a little tired of sitting in Taoyuan and not doing much of anything.

So the first outing we had after we liberated ourselves from Taoyuan was going to Taipei to see our Chinese professor from the US and the Chinese students she brought from WVU, plus two of our classmates from WVU who just moved here to work for a year. Sadly, Lin laoshi couldn't go because she had work she had to do, but that's ok we got to see her soon after. It was fun, although it rained some. Then the next weekend (which was last weekend) we went back to Taipei, but this time with a classmate who is from Taipei, and we met a new American friend. He is super sarcastic and his sense of humor is more or less like mine...it was weird. After we met up with some other classmates we all rode this Massive Beautiful Ferris Wheel. Pretty much we just walked around and talked and had fun together, but it rained a lot (it is Taiwan after-all).

Love you all!!

PS...The next post will be far more interesting, because it will contain awkward moments :) I will continue after I eat food...

Hmm...what was I saying?

Since the last time I wrote so many emotions have gone through me. First of all, extreme frustration. When we took the test to be placed in a Chinese class I was told that I could try both the basic and intermediate class because I scored borderline on the test. I was pretty proud of myself actually, but the catch is this was all a reading and multiple choice test. There is a big difference between reading and knowing what goes in a blank, and making up answers yourself. The intermediate class was way over my head, they were talking about presidents and impeachment, and I don't even know the word for trashcan (I know now, it's 垃圾桶). So I went down to the basic class and that was much better. I understood what was going on, but it turns out this class wasn't good for me either! So frustrating. To make a long story short, mine and Stephanie's Chinese is American Chinese. We use our American thought process to translate things into Chinese, and our grammar sucks. If you give me a sentence and tell me to find a grammar mistake, I can do it, but for me to make a sentence straight from my head and make it sound like a good Chinese sentence...天啊！(Oh goodness!). So we are now in a Beginner class...that is so discouraging. Anyway, I'm better now. I'm determined to learn tons over these next 3 months and hopefully I'll be able to find something here that will allow to come back and continue studying. One day my Chinese will be amazing!

After extreme frustration came tons of fun. I went with some classmates to a place called Yilan, it is pretty close to Taipei so it took about an hour to get there and we had to go through the longest tunnel in Taiwan, and then I learned to word for tunnel. It took the whole day to put the word into my memory, but I got it now. I ate some new tasty things, I don't remember what any of it was called, and then I ate some Stinky tofu. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but the aftertaste reminded me of the smell of a farm...I don't plan on eating it again. However, Stephanie liked it. Blah. Pretty much all we did was walk around and talk with our classmates. We talked about accents from different parts of Taiwan and different parts of the US. I let them hear my hick come out and then explained what "ain't" meant. AND THEN!!!...we found THE Ferris Wheel. In Taipei, connected to a mall is a giant Ferris Wheel. Last time we were here we saw it and wanted to go to it, but we didn't know they way, and then we kept seeing it in Taiwanese dramas. So, when we passed it on the highway, Stephanie and I freaked out a little and then they took us to see it. It was too late to actually ride it, but there is an MRT station right next to it so next time...We are definitely riding it.

Other than that my life has been consumed with my Senior thesis and other homework. I now know more about Wang Leehom than I ever thought I would know...now I just need to meet him and ask him to explain his music. One day maybe...

Love you all!! And Happy Easter!

I'm Chinese!!

So today in my Chinese Society and Culture class the professor gave us three ways to find out if you are Han Chinese. 1. You don't have double eyelids (I think) 2. Something about 2 sections on your little toe (She used Chinese to explain and when she used English it didn't make sense...so I think that is what she meant) 3. You have a crease on your forearm right in front of the inside of your elbow. So as everyone was looking at their arms to see if they were Han Chinese (I am the only white person in this class) I decided to look at my own arm and I have the crease! Muahahaha So I am apparently Han Chinese. I've also heard that this meant you had Native American ancestry, but who knows, maybe somewhere far back I have some Chinese relatives. My professor and classmates thought it was pretty funny also.

Another exciting part of the day...I saw a guy with a mullet! Although, it didn't go well with the rest of him. He had facial hair and a "manly" look...but then the mullet. It was pretty amusing. Also, I saw two motorcycles! Scooters are extremely abundant and very rarely do I see actual motorcycles so every time I do I get really excited. One day I'm going to make friends with a handsome guy with a leather jacket and motorcycle and ask him for a ride. Then I can pretend like I'm in a Taiwanese drama. :) Yea I'm a dork.

So much naivety to get rid of.

This past weekend I once again made the long journey to Taipei. Not only had we not heard from the Taoyuan church so we don't have a place to go in Taoyuan yet, but also the family we were staying with was going to an orphanage to teach a Sunday school lesson. So, Stephanie and I decided it was definitely worth it and it most certainly was!

To start this marvelous day off, the sermon was called “Three Chairs.” One was commitment, one was compromise, and one was condemnation. It was an amazing sermon! He spoke of how God wants us to be perfect, not just good but perfect, and the only way to do that was through Jesus Christ. Jesus is what you need to go from the condemned seat to the commitment seat. Then he spoke of how people compromise in their walk with Christ. We go to church and give to those who need, but then we go out and do whatever we want even if it against what Christ wants for us. We want the good that comes with Christ, and the fun that comes with the world. But we can't have both. His words were much more powerful than mine, but it was a very good sermon to hear.
After that we once again went to the Old Testament Bible study that we went to last time, but this time we got really off topic and started talking about the difficulties that Taiwanese people have when they make the decision to follow Christ. The family that we are staying with said that the first time they met their landlord, he encouraged them to hold a Bible study in their house and he believed Christianity was the right way. But when they asked him if he was a Christian he said no, he couldn't be. Although he thought his siblings should, and his tenants should be, he was the oldest son so he couldn't become a Christian. In the Taiwanese/Chinese culture the oldest son has most of the responsibilities in the family. He has filial responsibilities to attend to, and someone mentioned especially at the time of the parent's death. Some of the Taiwanese people shared their own experiences, and I realized once again how blessed I am to have such an amazing family. And my heart completely broke. As much as I would like to think that I am independent and that I would abandon all for God, I don't know if I can truthfully say that. Some people are beaten by their family for choosing Christ. That is true faith and love for God.
Then after church we went to the orphanage! In this particular orphanage there are mostly kids with HIV/AIDS. The kids without it are children from migrant workers or are babies that aren't old enough to know for sure if they have HIV/AIDS. Apparently you can't actually tell that until around 2 and a half or 3 years old. If the child has HIV/AIDS than they can't be adopted so they have to live in the orphanage until they are 18 and then they are out on their own. For the babies of the migrant workers, although the beginning of their lives are not happy, they are far more fortunate. The migrant workers come from places like the Philippines and Vietnam to work as maids or whatever. While they're here they aren't supposed to have kids, some have families back home, but things happen and they are sent to this orphanage to have their children and help out for a while. There are 3 of these children there right now. Two are going to the US and one is going to Germany. All of these children are so beautiful. I stayed with the babies the whole time and fell in love a little. Ming Ming fell asleep while I was holding her! (I think she was a girl – they don't really dress the babies according to gender) We are definitely going back, Stephanie was like “they come every other weekend...we can do that.” So we'll see. We might end up making a bi-monthly pilgrimage to Taipei.

Love you All!! And I pray that you all will truly live your lives for God.

Amazing people, food, and a dog...what more can you ask for?

It decided to get cold and rainy in Taiwan these past couple of days, and I'm not a fan. Mainly because there is no central heating in the dorm. It hopefully won't last long and then it will go back to the sunny warmth I love so much.

This past weekend Stephanie and I went back to Taipei to meet up with a family that a woman my mom works with knows. The story is a little complicated, but it was an amazing weekend! We got there Saturday afternoon and then we went to Sunday School at a little store-front church. They have children's Sunday school on Saturday because there isn't enough room for them to have regular church and Sunday school. Anyway, it was tons of fun. We sang Jesus Loves Me in Chinese, although I don't remember the words anymore, and then there was a lesson and the preacher let us use a Bible with Chinese and English! It was amazing and I am definitely getting one. I could try and read the Chinese and when I failed, I could just look over and see the English and then understand what was going on again. Then we got to draw and an adorable little boy loved Stephanie's so she gave it to him, then he said mine was ugly but I gave it to him anyway. After that there was a youth group meeting at the family's apartment and although there was only 5 of us, it was still tons of fun. I met a girl that spent most of her life in the US and is home schooled, and a girl that loves drawing and wants to go to school for Industrial design, in fact she has an interview for the school she would LOVE to go to so everyone should pray for her! Anyway, they were great girls and it was tons of fun to hang out with them and play spoons and rich man, poor man. Then on Sunday morning we went to Grace Baptist and met tons of fantastic people. This church just so happens to be the church Chiang Kai-shek went to and his minister came and talked to the congregation. A little bit of history spoke to me (which makes waking up so early for Chinese History that one semester almost worth it), and since it was his birthday, he gave everyone a gift, a beautiful cup (although that sounds kind of lame, if you saw it it wouldn't be. Also, Asians like their tea so it makes perfect sense). After the church service, we went to a Bible study and met some more fantastic people. There was an Australian guy, Canadian, and quite a few Americans. But the most exciting part, was out of all the people in the church that could sit next to me in the Bible study a woman sat down and started talking to me. After she found out I went to school in Taoyuan she told me about the her home church in Taoyuan. She said there used to be a fellowship for MCU students and even a program there for English speakers. How amazing is that?! She said she was going to give our contact information to the church, so hopefully soon there will be a place for us to go while we are in Taoyuan. I think the sermons are in Chinese, but that is even better! More practice!

In other news, yesterday Stephanie and I went on a journey to the store so that we could buy laundry detergent and do laundry (we tried this once before and ended up getting fabric softener instead...we didn't pay much attention to the characters on that particular occasion). On the way there we stopped by a little restaurant to eat dinner and after asking a couple of questions about what was what (we are a little illiterate especially with traditional characters) we finally ordered and it was good! Stephanie said it was just like home, and then told her when we had a McFlurry and fries the night before that was like home for me. Then we had a discussion about what non-Asian Americans have for dinner. It's kind of funny how alike we are, but how different our lives were growing up because she's Asian. Anyway, then out of nowhere this little dog walks up and stretches like it had just woken up. It was adorable, it just sat there and let us pet him (or her...I don't know which) and then we decided that we would make friends with the owners and go there more often. Good food and a cute dog, what more can you ask out of a restaurant?

I love you all and you're still in my prayers!