Rachel and I completed our first full day in Taiwan. We began by having our last American style breakfast of Frosted Flakes! We then walked to the main campus buildings to meet all our host students. We had a little meet and greet including a dance some of the students made up for us and a matching game of their names and faces. They gave each of us a t-shirt, polo, our own chopsticks, a NTSU mug, and a pin. All the students are so sweet and have been watching us painfully struggle with the pronunciation of very simple phrases :) Rachel is really good at it and we now know about 5!
We had a tour of the whole campus including their huge gymnasium which includes their athletic training room, judo, gymnastics, volleyball, and basketball. We had a surprise this after noon- a foot massage! It was painful to me but good because I had some knots in my calves but Rachel was cracking up because it tickled. The campus is beautiful we got a better look at it when we went on a run after dinner. Speaking of dinner it was amazing! All will be happy and surprised to know that Rachel and I ate some of everything, fish balls, trip (cow's stomach), all kinds of fish, and tons of things I have no idea about. One of the girls decided our theme for this trip is "what are you eating?" "I don't know but I'm eating it anyways" The restaurant we went to is a "hot pot" style where you get all the raw foods and throw them into the boiling broth together and then eat it all. We could choose from regular or spicy broths. We had different cream puffs, jellos, and haagen daz ice creams for dessert.
After dinner we went to a night market which everything you could think of to eat which all smelled delicious except for the stinky tofu which was horrid smelling. They also had games, shoes, clothes, watches, and leather items. Rachel and I had to visit the 7/ 11 to use the ATM and get money in NTs the currency here. The exchange is about 31 NTs to 1 U.S. dollar. Can't wait to do some shopping and find you all some great presents! -K
Me next? Just barely. I can't really add much except for at the chinese-fondu place Dalei, one of my buddy's "school sister" (basically a mentor) made us try her rum raisin icecream, which I'm sure we have but I've never tasted. Tastes like frozen rum. Literally. It seems a theme here to take two things that have completely different tastes and consistencies and mix them... i.e. chocolate pudding that is jello consistency. Doesn't sound weird, but tasting it you can tell there's just something a little off about jello tasting chocolatey. Nicknames here are probably one of the strangest thing's I've encountered thus far-- with the top one being Fish Ball. Something about that.. I don't think I could ever bring myself to call a person Fish Ball. That or one of the girls didn't even tell us her real name, just told us to call her Child. Let me tell you... trying to call for someone by saying Child is a weirdness you'd never thought you'd encounter. There's also a Wang-wang (which we're told means something along the lines of forgetful), Garfield (and yes, the reasoning is what you think... it's because she's big. No euphemism there. Can't really live in this country with a soft shell). I can't think of the rest right now, there's also a good number of nicknames that are just American names-- Paul, Joyce, Kris, Mae. Alright blogging is weird.. I can only do this for so long. OH.. and there's a TON of stray dogs here. I've never seen a dog just wandering around, sleeping under a tree or on the side of the road. I see stray cats all the time... but there's something about seeing a stray dog that really pulls at your heart strings. Until the NTSU students remind us they're gross and not to touch them. Sad puppies. Tomorrow morning classes start... sweet. -R
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