Traditional Chinese Medicine

So it's been a while since I've posted, but I wanted a good topic to talk about that didn't just consist of a play by play of my travels in Taiwan.  And today I found it.... traditional Chinese medicine.

Continuing the saga of Taiwan and I's stand off in terms of medical issues... I busted up my right middle and ring fingers on Friday night playing basketball with some of my male co-workers (2 v 2).  My team won though so it's all ok (and I scored half my team's points).  Originally I thought I just jammed them and continued to play the game, however afterwards I realized my fingers hurt more than they should... like a lot more.  The nurse at the school thought they were broken, but other people weren't so sure since I could still bend them a little and move them around. So I decided to wait until the next day to see if my fingers showed any improvement before rushing off to the hospital for x-rays.  I did learn how to eat with chopsticks left-handed that Friday night which was a cool skill to learn.  My fingers slowly improved (meaning they weren't broken thank goodness).  But when I tried to make a fist, my two fingers didn't come down the way they used to.  If anyone is familiar with chiropractic care (which I am a huge supporter of), I felt like my fingers were "out of adjustment" (not dislocated, but not set quite right either).  But where do you find a chiropractor in Taiwan/Asia??? Do they even have chiropractic care here? The answer my friends is yes... and it is called Chinese traditional medicine!

After asking my coordinator Iris if she knew of a chiropractor or a place where I could get my fingers examined because they felt stiff, she recommended going to a Chinese traditional medicine place because they could "pop" my fingers there if need be.  So off we scootered down the street to the traditional medicine CLINIC.  Not "tiny little store on a side street with glass jars full of herbs everywhere run by a really old Chinese man/woman." Clinic.  With a receptionist and "nurse" in full scrub garb and a doctor in a white lab coat.  They even took the national health insurance (ya for alternative medicine taking health insurance!!!). The doctor then proceeded to examine my fingers, wrist, and elbow followed by a series of twists, pulls, and pops.  And my fingers felt infinitely better! But they still weren't quite there.... Chinese medicine doctor: no problem! *pull**pop* How's that?... And I could naturally make a fist again. Granted, my fingers still hurt and are still a little stiff (we'll see how they are after a week post-injury), but this was an incredibly positive experience for my first encounter with traditional medicine.  Afterwards, a nice nurse wrapped some herbal medicine on some gauze pads around my two fingers which then proceeded to feel like icy-hot as well as create cloud of minty-freshness surrounding me for the rest of the day.  Completely made from various natural ingredients. 

In other updates...

Sun Moon Lake

My fellow Taichung ETAs and I visited the famous Sun Moon Lake, which lives up to its reputation as beautiful scenery... however said beautiful scenery has created a tourist town around it as well that is less than ideal.  But you take what you can get.

Look at that fog (Sun Moon Lake)

10/10 Party!

Taiwan's national holiday (October 10... aka 10/10) was last week, and we got to go to the big party with the president, ambassadors, and all sorts of other people that I would never have the courage to approach.  It was also not a very good networking type place, but I definitely got to see what these sorts of people look like in person.  They had TONS of food there representing all types of famous and traditional Taiwanese food.  They had stuff you can commonly find in restaurants anywhere (except this was the most delicious version I have ever tasted), aboriginal food and liquor, and even some western style food (the brie, grape, leafy green thing, and walnut horderve was particularly popular amongst the Fulbright program.... and yes I had to look up how to spell horderve sadly enough). They had lots of cultural presentations from Taiwan and various countries who are Taiwan's political allies.  And did I mention all the free food?

Henna

This past weekend (and this coming weekend too for that matter) was the Taichung Jazz Music Festival and it was awesome. Honestly it was more like a shopping and food festival with jazz music in the background for atmosphere... and if you wanted you could eat your food on the lawn watching some jazz players play.  But besides the shopping and eating, me and my fellow ETA got henna done! It'll be gone in a week or so, but it's fun while it lasts. 

Newest updates on Amanda personally: inspired by my awesome looking students at a dinner I attended Friday night (with my damaged fingers), I will now be joining them on Monday afternoons for their Taiko class.  I will be learning Taiko people!
And I got my ears double pierced :)

Coolest Taiko Group is at JiFeng Elementary School

Taiwan's Medical System

In case you didn't already know, I had a cough that was persisting over an approximately 3 week period.  Although it was slowly getting better, I had never experienced anything like this before especially since the rest of my body felt like a champ.  Then when my throat randomly got sore, I decided I wanted answers.  So far I had been to the doctor's office twice, and each time they said "You have a cold. Take these pills, and you will get better." Well I took the darned pills, but I didn't get better. So this time, I was gonna go to the hospital.  There they would for sure do a swab test of my throat, maybe take me in for some scans of my chest, or something more than just do a visual observation, right??? Wrong.  The ENT took a more thorough visual observation of my throat and said, "I see nothing wrong with you. You look fine. You just have a cold." ---- I almost cried right there.  When I've had a cold, I have never had a cough that would just not stop nor did I have a sore throat where it felt like knives were stabbing my throat when I swallowed.  And I think he saw how upset I was because then he said he would take another look.  And he looked again and came back with the same answer.  Was it too much to ask to have them stick a q-tip down my throat to swab for a bacteria culture test? However, instead of giving the same pill regimen that I had been working with (general anti-cold stuff), he gave me anti-cough medicine and gave me specific instructions to not talk so much (aka not talk as much during teaching for a while).  So in a nutshell, it felt like a waste of time.

However, after about 5 days of being on the anti-cough meds, my sore throat went away. And now that I'm off the anti-cough meds, I am no longer coughing. So in the end, I suppose the doctor knew what he was doing.  But I came out of this experience with a couple thoughts.... 1- when we first came to Taiwan, we were so excited about taking advantage of the cheap medical system here. I have since found that, in most common sickness cases, their cheap medical system is very helpful and reassuring, especially for those people who don't have a lot of money.  But if you get a more complicated sickness or one that is inexplicable and you are not worsening/on the brink of death, they aren't going to go out of their way to find out what is wrong with you.  They will continue to push you the standard diagnosis (you have a cold) and some standard medication. Although America's healthcare system is overpriced, as long as you have the money, they will do what is in their power to find you a medical answer until you're satisfied. So both Taiwan's and America's medical systems have their pros and cons.  For those of you who say poo-poo to "government medicine," it feels amazing to only have to pay $0.20 for 7 sets of pills.  For those of you who say poo-poo to America's medical system, one way or another they will get to the bottom of your sickness if it continues to persist or not follow the standard symptoms. 

The finale of an epic hike in Yilan

In terms of travel and teaching.... I visited Yilan and did some amazing hiking (on possible the most intense hike I've ever done).  We were climbing up ladders, hiking up steep hills with ropes, climbing over rocks, wading up rivers, and all sorts of stuff.  Something new I learned... there are leaches in Taiwan. I had never thought "there aren't any here," but it was something I had never thought about before.  About 5 minutes into the hike, I look down, and sure enough... there is a leach on my foot. Luckily I was able to spot it and brush it off before it attached to me.  My friend on the hike was not so lucky.  On the train ride home we spot this HUGE leach crawling around on the ground beneath us (*cue the "gross!" and quick moving of bags to different seats on the train*).  We had no idea where it came from until we got home and he found a bloody part on his foot under his sandal strap. 

ETAs + Waterfall (credit to fellow ETA's awesome camera/running-to-get-into-the-picture skills)

Why yes, we commonly meditate before class :D

Teaching! If you would like to see some pictures and videos of me teaching a bunch of 2nd graders, head over to my Facebook profile page.  I would upload them here, but they are not my pictures/videos.  Teaching is still going well, and I have discovered that 99.99% of the children here LOVE and/or watch Adventure Time (dubbed in Chinese of course).  I foresee many grammar lessons involving Adventure Time in the future....

Main office where my desk is

Being silly

Side of Jifeng Elementary School's building

Lotus pond in front of my school

Are words really important?

What does it mean to communicate with another person? This is something that I've been wondering about lately as I've been getting into the swing of teaching. A major part of learning a language is to use that language for communication purposes, and as a language teacher I'm beginning to feel my responsibility for making sure these kids can use the English that they learn to communicate effectively.

So what goals do I set for the end of the year for my 小朋友們 that will constitute communicating effectively? How do you define communicating effectively? When I first arrived in Taiwan, my Chinese was rusty, and I was incredibly unfamiliar with the traditional characters having always studied simplified characters. Even ordering food was a challenge those first few days. But through translator apps and various pointing/acting methods, I didn't starve and was able to order what I wanted. Sure, my language skills weren't stellar, but I was able to communicate what I wanted through more than just words. 

My latest example that has me pondering effective communication is..... Yep, you guessed it: the adorable students that I have the privilege of teaching.  My relationship with my students is an interesting one because, on average, the most I've ever said to them outside of class (aka not related to lessons) is "Hi!/Hello!" with some hand waving and smiles mixed in. Granted this has still been the first few weeks, and I'm slowly having more short conversations with them as my Chinese improves and they grow more comfortable around me (the fourth graders even put my hair in a ponytail for me this morning). But it comes down to this.... Even having had such little verbal communication with them, I'm amazed at how much I already know about them.  I know who struggles in English and who is so far advanced they are bored out of their minds.  I know who doesn't care much for English class or using their English to communicate with me, but our 5x daily ritual of "Hi!" and enthusiastic hand waving/high fives is something they will never miss.  I know which kids may not be doing exactly what you want them to do when you ask them to do it, but they will do it eventually in their own time if you leave them alone.  I know who to continuously check in with when working on workbooks because they need the reassurance that they are doing the assignment right. Overall I'm just truly amazed at how good of friends we have become (as good friends as tons of tiny students and their teacher can be), how happy we are to see each other, and how much fun we have together all with bare minimum verbal communication.

Classroom at school with a bunch of adorable Grade 3 students

Drawing from this experience, I think it's sometimes hard to forget how much body language and facial expression plays a role in communication when you live in a country where your first language is spoken everywhere.  Needless to say I will never underestimate the power of the mighty smile, wave, and high five ever again. 

One of the things that has stuck with me is something an administrator from my school said on day 1: "Our goal for having you here is not to make them into the best English speakers.  We want to the kids to experience interacting with a foreigner in addition to you teaching English."  As much as I hope by the end of the year they could be some of the best English speakers in Taichung, realistically I've set my goal to something I feel is much more realistic:  I hope by the time I leave my students will know how to respond when someone asks them their name, reciprocate the question, deal with the question "How are you?", know a little more about how different the world can be (in both appearance and culture), have the confidence to make friends/attempt to interact with someone who doesn't speak their language, and to learn how to use more than words to communicate.

Quick updates:

It's official- I am now a celebrity to Grade 4, Class 1.  I had my first small children mob experience with all of them demanding that I write both my English and Chinese names on whatever they could get their hands on.... paper, textbooks, and yes, their actual hands. 

This week on Thursday is 中秋節/Mid-Autumn Festival so we do not have school Thursday nor Friday.  But we only got Friday off because we all came in on Saturday and had those Friday classes on Saturday... yes you read that right... on Saturday. I had a 1 day weekend.... not fun.  But because of the festival I have had a continuous supply of 月餅/moon cakes and 柚子/pomelo fruit, all of which is delicious.  For my four days of a much deserved break I'll be visiting Taibei and Yilan.

In desperate pursuit of trying to find a way to connect with my 5-6 graders, I realized that I had a moral standing that I could not ask them to learn English vocabulary words if I did not even know them in Chinese.  So I have been making it a point to be able to fully translate their dialogues and vocabulary.  As a result, I came up with the idea that every time they have a vocab quiz/test, I will also take the same quiz/test (the students ask me the questions while I write my answers on the board).  This could have potentially been awesome or undermined my authority, but luckily.... they all loved it.  If anything, it brought us closer together as students and teacher because 1- it brought me down to their level that I am a language student too, 2- they were very impressed I could write Chinese (they knew I could speak a little, but I don't think they expected me to be able to write as well), and 3- they LOVED helping me when I forgot parts of the characters or wrote it wrong (seriously, it was kinda scary as to how much they loved correcting me).  But probably the coolest part of this experience for them came from their reaction when my co-teacher told them that they would be giving me a test.... "Wait... we're going to give Teacher a test?" It was like I had said I can breathe underwater.  I couldn't tell if they were more surprised that they were allowed to quiz a teacher or that I was going to be tested on writing Chinese.  Either way... it worked! And now every time they have a test/quiz, so will I.

Just as a final summary on how I'm doing.... I absolutely love living here.  Especially now that I've gotten into the swing of things.  I love my job, I love my apartment, I love my room mates, I love my friends, and I am so happy with my life here.  Granted, its all very tiring, but it's worth it.  My language skills aren't improving as fast as I had hoped, but if that's the only complaint I have, I'll take it. 

The insane amount of pills I had to take when I got sick (and this is just the "after dinner" round)

Amanda Teacher

Have you ever had a whole crowd turn and look at you almost simultaneously? Well I can check that one off my bucket list.  Being the "new beautiful blonde foreign teacher" (yes, that was how I was introduced to the school at the welcome-back-to-school assembly) at an elementary school, I have probably been stared at more times in the past 3 days than in my entire life.  That is definitely true if you include this past month.  However, I have never waved at so many smiling faces as in the past 3 days either.  Sometimes the kids would willing start smiling and waving their hands a potentially wrist snapping pace. Sometimes the kids would just stare with a blank look on their face.  But once I waved and smiled they would join the children from the previous category.  And of course there were some that just kept staring and walked away (awkward).

*Cute story time*
First graders.... so adorable. Today was my first day with the first graders (<- no pun intended).  Occasionally one would come up to me and ask, "你是外師嗎？/Are you the foreign teacher?" or something to that effect. I would respond "是/Yes," and their face would light up like a Christmas tree. For what reason, I have no idea. Maybe it was because they got to speak to the new foreign teacher, maybe it was because I could speak Chinese. You could definitely see the looks of relief on many faces when I was able to ask them in Chinese if they had an English name.  If they already had an English name, they knew how to respond to "What's your name?"  If not, they would just stare, and their face would start to fall until I said in Chinese, "你有英文名字嗎？/ Do you have an English name?" at which point they would confidently answer with "沒有/No." At the end, some just skipped right by me out the door, some purposely came to show me how pretty their new name tag was with their English name, and some came just to whisper "Bye!" before promptly running out the door in sheer terror at what they had just done.  And the best part? The first graders don't ask you too many questions.  So if I don't understand what they say, I can just smile and nod (maybe even throw in a high five), and they are perfectly happy.

Miss Emily..... I didn't learn her name until Day 2, but on Day 1 she walked by my classroom at least 5 times in one day.  Each time she waved from when she could see into the classroom/caught my eye all the way until she couldn't see me anymore (and windows run the full length of the classroom), and I'm pretty sure she doubled back once considering as soon as she disappeared she reappeared for another waving/smiling round. 

I have so far been asked why my eyes are blue. And many Taiwanese are shocked that my curly hair is natural. They can't believe it.  Most thought I permed my hair.  Nope, just add water here.

*Not so cute story*
I was the source of potentially over 50 dares on Day 1... say hi to the foreign teacher and run away giggling with your friends, don't even wait for her to respond. The first couple were funny since I knew I was the shiny new toy so to speak, but I was losing tolerance after #25.  Luckily, they have now switched to "hello teacher" or "老師好."

Teaching so far
I haven't done much teaching so far, only a self introduction. And that went well. I had some funny pictures that the students (aka 小朋友/little friends) loved. I have played some games in certain classes, and so far so good. I'm holding my breath for when we move beyond Day 1 school which could be a whole different ballgame.  *crosses fingers*

Apartment move in!
I am now in my new apartment with my two awesome room mates (one boy and one girl). Two of us share a bathroom and the other gets their own. We live in a FANTASTIC location, and it couldn't be more convenient. So overall, I think I'm really gonna like living here.  Although I am getting eaten alive by 小黑蚊/little black mosquitoes (aka noseeums). But today my teachers shared with me their choice brand of bug spray... ideally the little mosquitoes don't stand a chance.

The Good with the Bad

Lots of stuff to update on along with some final thoughts on best/worst things about Taiwan so far...

School Placements

As possibly the most significant event to occur since arriving in Taiwan, last week we visited/toured the schools that each of us would be teaching at this school year. On the tours we all agreed that there was not a single "bad" school in the bunch.  Each had something different to offer. What was really bizarre to me was that everyone really did seem to have a slightly different opinion on each school.  I mean, I know "we are all different," but you would think with a group that gets along as well as ours does that there would be more overlaps in opinions (although we do have quite a wide variety of interests in our group).  Granted, some people had similar #1 choices, but I was often surprised after coming out of a school thinking "meh" that another ETA was talking about how amazing it was. Or even the one I fell in love with, someone else wasn't as impressed with it as I was (that was ok because it meant less competition).  Each school really pulled out the stops for us. Most had a snack available for us (examples: fruit and cookies, sweet bean ice drink thing - this was actually really good, iced lattes, pudding and fruit, more lattes). And one had its faculty applaud as we walked up the front steps... yah, we were quite confused by this since we hadn't done anything yet.... other than walk up the front steps looking fabulous... so maybe that was it :D.

From there we were able to fill out a form listing our favorite schools, and then Monday we were given our school assignments. There were some surprises, but everyone was overall pleased with their placement.

Receiving my assignment with a representative from my school

Ladies and gentleman... I will be an English Teaching Assistant at 吉峰國小 (JiFeng Elementary School) for this coming school year.  Once the school year gets started, I'll be sure to talk a lot about more about it, but for now, check out a picture taken by another ETA here in Taichung.

Fun facts on Taiwan schools: The "relatively not well-off" elementary schools in Taiwan (that was where the Fulbright program requests that the Taichung government sends us) are almost as nice as the college I went to in the States.  In terms of technology and campus, many were unbelievable.  Not one was under 2 stories.  Each had an elaborate gate or entry way of some sort.  Essentially, all these public schools looked like older private schools in the States.  I'm not sure what this says about Taiwan vs American education systems, but I thought it was interesting. Also, many of these kids don't just go home or go to sports/dance practice after school.  They go to cram school.  If you've never heard of them, they are essentially an extra class.  Cram schools are generally their own agencies that parents pay extra to send their kids to to learn/study more in a specific subject.  Pros: kids learn a lot more about a specific subject and begin to excel in that subject.... Cons: kids tend to get ahead of the other "normal kids" in their cram school subject (especially in English) leading to a wide variety of levels in the classroom, kids don't get out of cram school until almost 8-9pm.

Buddhist Temple Visit

Head nun/monk

Very nice nun who spoke great English and has been to USA before

Main worship era

On Saturday our coordinator invited us to visit her temple as she is Buddhist.  Although I'm Christian (and a couple other people in the group are), I wanted to go for the cultural experience.  Her mother arranged for us to all go with some other people on a bus as it was up in the mountains.  Most of us had the image of a temple in the forest with monks wandering about, some in prayer, some conversing, etc.  The only thing this temple had in common with that was it was in the mountains surrounded by trees and there were monks.  This was actually a temple with only female monks, and I was shocked at first to see a more modern looking building as our destination. And lots of carnival colors. We were all a little taken aback at first, because these pavilion tents were nothing like we were expecting.  As it turned out, they were celebrating the birthday of the specific Buddha that this temple worships.  Thus, they had many extra shrines and stations set up for the occasion.... and it was looking like rain... hence the tents.  Not gonna lie, at first I was very uncomfortable because this was not a "just stand back and observe" type of set up.  Although the monks (or nuns if you would rather call them that... but they were nothing like any nuns I've ever seen) were very nice, they seemed a little over eager at first to get us involved in what everyone else was doing for my taste (not in a "I'm gonna convert you!" type of way, just wanting us to be able to participate).  Once I communicated that I did not want to do certain things and figured out how to continually maneuver myself to the back of the group (something that I don't typically do haha), I managed to have a nice time and just observe. The trip was actually a great spiritual adventure for me too.  Never having been so thoroughly exposed to another religion before, it gave me the chance to reflect on my own faith and  remember some of the teachings I often forget about. Overall, I came away much more solid in my faith.

Nuns make great zhong-zi (rice made with stuff wrapped in bamboo)

Symbolic bread made to look like a peach (peach=longevity)

Typhoons

"How sad. Taiwan is a tropical island, so unfortunately, there are no snow days so school/work can be canceled."
"That's ok! We have typhoons instead."

Complete lack of care that a typhoon is supposed to be coming soon by natives ^^

Today (this was originally written on Wednesday) actually is my first experience with typhoons.  Our ETA training was canceled last night, but when I woke up this morning I wasn't sure why.  Sure the ground was wet, but it was barely raining and there were plenty of cars and mopeds on the streets.  The sun even peaked out for a while. So far today has been a steady alteration between sprinkling and, in the best way to describe it, "fat rain." And maybe there was some wind thrown in.  My roomies and I went to the convenience store, went to a tea shop, and even went out for hot pot (although since the hot pot place is right next door, I'm not sure if that counts as an accomplishment).  Heck, the waffle lady's stand was open too (she's under an overhang, but it's not in a solid building). Taichung's geographical position on the island is such that it's known for its nice weather, and we were even told that it's often sheltered from typhoons.  But that didn't stop us from going out last night to get a couple packs of ramen, snacks, and water just in case.  Now, I think we might have over reacted slightly.  But overall I'm not complaining because today has been a nice, relaxing day filled with The Avengers, getting caught up on some cleaning, and delicious snack food.
*Side note* Thursday, the day after typhoon day, we almost weather almost as bad as (if not worse) than the actual typhoon day.

It's now time for.... the Best/"Worst" of Taiwan so far....

"Worst" (which is not actually that bad in the first place)
1. Sugar in Drinks

Posters from a gym here... I feel like these statements contradict.

Taiwan has a sweet tooth when it comes to their drinks that gives America a run for it's money.  Personally, I prefer lighter sweet tastes in general, but even some of the ETAs who have never really developed that preference (and are totally for sugar) are complaining that the sweet here is too sweet.  ESPECIALLY in the drinks.  At all the drink stands here you can completely customize your drink. You can adjust the sugar and ice levels to your satisfaction. The "full" sugar level is pretty much undrinkable. I usually go with the lowest sugar level of "無糖／no sugar" or "微糖／tiny (or 1/3) sugar"... and actually some stores' "tiny sugar" is too much.  Now the real fun comes when you buy bottled drinks (mainly juices and teas) because you can't customize the sugar levels (and it does not seem to be a requirement to put sugar quantities on the nutrition label... hmmm I wonder why... *sarcasm*). So it's kinda a game to try a new drink from the convenient store.... "how sweet is it gonna be? Drinkable not drinkable?" *person takes a sip* *insert face appropriate to either "way too sweet and is disgusting" or "not too sweet... will be buying this brand more often"*
2. Checking out at a store
The actually checking out process is fine.  But sometimes I'm a little slow at putting my change away, putting my receipt away, picking up my stuff, and heading out the door. However, if there's someone waiting behind me, as soon as the cashier is done handing me my my receipt and change, it is time to ring the next person up no matter how crowded the counter gets with 3 people and merchandise. 
3. No 3G
Sure I could turn on my 3G, but it would be so expensive (since I have a prepaid card and can't get a plan - 2 year minimum) that it's not worth it. However, one ETA switched the company he has his sim card with because apparently this other company has a deal to buy 1 GB of data for X amount (and X is cheap).  So depending on how I hold up in the next couple weeks, I may switch too.
4. Can't drink the tap water
But there are water dispensers with filtered water everywhere, so it's not a big issue.
5. Lack of public trash cans.
Needs no explanation.
6. A night market is right next to our hostel
The night market is filled with delicious, cheap snack foods (noodles, fruit, fried things) and desserts (such as waffles - ya waffles are desserts here) that are too easily accessible from my hostel (literally a 2 min walk). And when you're tired at the end of the day and don't wanna travel too far to go eat dinner, guess what is the default dinner place? And this is clearly not a healthy, slimming habit to get into.

Extra-delicious pizza... brick-oven cooked too

Pizza... delicious pizza

Best
1. A night market is right next to our hostel
All these delicious foods are close by. So when you want something fun and/or sweet to eat it couldn't be easier to get it :) Especially waffles at 10pm.

Soy tofu with ice covered in honey and sesame seeds...cheap and kinda healthy?

2. The tea shops
Sure I'm not a fan of the super sugar tea drinks, but Taiwan makes it really fun and easy to stay hydrated.  They have so many types of tea available.  There are fruit options, add milk for typical "bubble milk tea," add the tapioca pearls that make it "bubble," hot or cold, etc etc. I've never had such a variety of iced tea available in my life. There is at least one of these stores on every block and each one seems to be doing healthy business.  And the lids! That's just it, there are no lids. It's a plastic seal that they put over the top which is quite clever actually. Because it's sealed, if the cup tips while you're transporting it to where you want to drink it, it won't spill.  And to drink it, you just just puncture the seal with your pointed end straw.
3. You don't need a car to get everywhere
It's easy to access everything you need without a car.  Everything you could want in terms of food, shopping, entertainment, etc is easily accessible by walking or taking the bus (and the first 8km is free on the bus).  It's a lot like New York City in that respect I guess.  But coming from the suburbs where you have to drive everywhere, it's a much preferred change. And anything you could desperately need can be easily bought at your local 7-11.
4. 7-11/ Taiwan convenience stores
In Taiwan, 7-11 and other convenience stores are not the sketchy places of the underworld that we know them to be.  Here they are your local family spot for just about anything you need. Tons of drinks, tons of food, even clothes! Wanna buy the latest video game? Need to pay your bills? Does your bus card need more money? Wanna buy a train ticket? Go to 7-11. Seriously, you can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner there, and have no problems eating a variety of foods. You can buy vitamins too.  Pretty much, when in doubt of where to do something, just go to 7-11.

Food buffet with manga/dvds/video game rack behind it

So much delicious food, umbrellas, and my roommates.

5. Prices (especially for food)
Seriously, we can have a great quality meal, that's quite healthy too, for under $6 (yes, American dollars).

Only $3.33 people... only $3.33...

5. The people
The Taiwanese have been some of the nicest people I have ever met. Truly.  I have never met people more willing to go out of their way for strangers to help them or build relationships.  But most importantly, this ETA group along with our coordinator is amazing.  Everyone is really cool, nice, wanting to go on adventures, and willing to help everyone out. Seriously, when we go places as a group, people don't pair off into regular groups.  It's a constant shift of who you are talking to and spending time with.  Yet we are all different.  So I'm very excited to learn a ton from these amazing people and hopefully have 11 close, lifelong friends by the end of this year-long adventure.

Local boy who started hanging out with us. Speaks great English. And he did a fantastic job on my nails \^-^/

We Are Family

*Warning* This post might get slightly sentimental.

Coordinator and practice scooter

Before coming to Taiwan, I heard the whispers of how awesome the country is... the food, the drinks, the night markets, the food, the dessert, and did I mention the food? However the whisper I have found to be the most true is how generous and friendly the people are here.  They make Southern hospitality look like that neighbor you've lived next to for years, but have never actually met.  To list some examples... I have yet to see anyone, both behind the counter and in line behind us, get impatient as we try to decipher the menus ordering our daily tea drink.  If anything, they use what English they speak to help us or patiently listen to our attempts at ordering in Chinese all while smiling encouragingly (before they confirm what they thought they heard with the token Chinese-speaking person with us). Bus drivers have let us off at non-designated stops because we missed the one we were actually supposed to get off at.  Our coordinator has let us all practice driving mopeds on her own scooter (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't let anyone- people I've known less than 2 weeks keep in mind- just take my car around for to practice driving it before the test... especially coming from a country where they don't typically drive cars).  Our coordinator has also taken some of her off-work time to show us around on evenings and weekends to make sure we know how to navigate everything and where all our essential stores are.  One of our presenters for our orientation (who was a previous Fulbright ETA the year before and is doing a second-year... so he's American) even brought us muffins all the way from Taibei. 

Jurassic Park scenery: Bamboo forest

 However, this weekend took things to a whole new level.  One of the ETA's here is Taiwanese-American, and she has family in the city we are in.  Her family invited us to go with them to Xitou, a local nature area heading towards the mountains (it was kind of like a national park although more paved trails and drink/food stands... and no camping... but lots of nature and nature inspired places).  It was really refreshing to get out of the city, and all of us were so surprised at how good it felt. And how easy it was to breathe. Maybe we've been getting more pollution than we realized O.O . And it was at least 10 degrees cooler up there which was awesome.  Seriously though, we all felt we were in Princess Mononoke or that a raptor was gonna come crashing through the woods at any moment because the place felt like Jurassic Park.  The foliage was so thick on the ground, and the paved paths were the only parts of the forest that were touched.  And so much walking... so much walking... and what's insane is there were Taiwanese girls doing it all in super cute outfits with platform shoes. Platform shoes! Going up hills! Unfortunately I didn't know enough Chinese to go up and inquire as to their logic behind their get-up.  It's now on the to-do list.

Handmade taffy: flaky, not chewy

It all started with the coffee.  Her uncle asked if anyone wanted some coffee from the 7-11 before we set out and one girl in our group said yes.  But before she could pay for her coffee, Uncle bought it for her.  Before going into the park, the ETAs from Harvard, Standford, Johns Hopkins, USC, etc all gathered around excitedly to... play with bubbles and watch taffy being made ^-^.  And the best part was, we were far from the only adults doing so.  Some things you just never grow out of, no matter what country you're from.  After the taffy show, we wanted to buy some to try it, but Uncle beat us to it and bought us a bag to share.  So generous :)

Princess Mononoke scenery

Suddenly we were gestured to hold out our arms, and we were all stamped to get into the park. But wait, didn't we have to pay? We asked Uncle how much it was so we could pay him back... after all, we have money, and the admittance fee couldn't have been cheap.  He said it cost NT$0 -_- "Thank you so much" was all we could do although we were starting to realize that we had to be on top of buying him a treat to return the favor (side note: we had already brought some bakery gifts as a thank you for inviting us and driving us- in typical Taiwanese fashion... when in Rome after all).  Half-way through the hike to the "Big Tree," we stopped for a break and out of Uncle's backpack came guava slices, cherries, and pineapple cake that Auntie prepared for us.  The generosity was overwhelming and it just kept coming! When we stopped to get snacks for our lunch, we decided to try some sausages one stand was roasting, and I literally had to snatch the bill out of the cashier's hand that Uncle had handed him to give him my own so I could buy him, Auntie, and myself a sausage.  But I guess he thought I was playing the piggie American and eat my 3 sausages because he then proceeded to buy 3 more -_- So people who didn't even originally order one got to try one. "Are you guys still hungry? This is lunch after all." "No we're ok, thank you." "Ok, let me go buy some roasted corn for you. And here, try some rice made in bamboo." (ya not kidding, they shove the rice into the bamboo and cook it. Then you break open the bamboo to eat the rice. it was SUPER cool and SUPER delicious). "wow, thank you so much, but we can buy it." "Oh you guys really like the rice, let me get you more."   

Bunny Tree... found only in Taiwan

By this point, we realized three things 1- we were gonna have to tackle him if we wanted to pay for anything ourselves, 2- never say/gesture/make eye signals that you want to buy something in his proximity, and 3- we were little kids.  Auntie and Uncle were mom and dad making sure we weren't hungry, were eating, had napkins... they were taking our trash and doing head counts every 15 min or so.

Eventually we went to a Japanese inspired village there and I was able to buy Uncle and Auntie ice cream to repay their kindness, if only in part.  But this peace was not meant to last.  As we were all chillin listening to a live band play songs (many in English just for us ^_^ -> Taiwan welcoming/generous spirit once again), Uncle brought us Peach Shaved Ice.  We had been searching for it earlier, but had contented ourselves with ice cream and had hit the full mark.  But oh no... Uncle had seen it, remembered we wanted it, and by-golly we were gonna have it.

I never thought I would ever feel overwhelmed by generosity, but I was. Don't get me wrong though, we were all incredibly grateful and thankful for their kindness and thanked them profusely.  On the drive home, I wondered... how sad is that that the Americans feel "not happy" to have someone be overly generous with their money and time? In America, it seems we treat each other occasionally, but there's a strong sense of paying separately, or treating each other equally (ex: you buy a $20 dinner? I buy a $20 set of movie tickets).  In Taiwan, it seems there's that sense of treating each other, but you don't keep a mental tab on who owes who how much in terms of treating friends.  There's no score. Everyone helps each other out, everyone sticks together. (Keep in mind, this is all just my opinion and observation based on my experiences.)  A few of us speculated on this, and we've come to determine that probably a big reason for this is how expensive everything in America is.  I can literally eat an entire filling meal here for under $2 (about NT$100= $3.33). When you eat that cheap, it's no problem to spend an extra $2 for a friend who's wallet is at the bottom of their bag or came through for you earlier.  Even their medical system is a reflection of this. I can't remember exactly, but one trip to the doctor costs you $15 (not sure if that's NT or American dollars). No matter what's wrong. They have arguable one of the best health care systems in the world.  Everyone can be taken care of, and no one is afraid of going to the doctor.  Although I haven't experienced this yet, as soon as you either sneeze, cough, or sniffle people will start urging you to go to the doctor. It's convenient and doesn't hurt the bank.  Because everyone takes care of each other.

Bamboo bridge

In the States, being an only child, I grew up with the sense that "this is mine and this is yours. I'll share mine, but you have to ask first" and a strong urge to pay my half. Luckily though, it seems the Taiwanese way of thinking is rubbing off on me.  I don't thoroughly catalog what people owe me anymore, all the food I buy (and all the food everyone buys for that matter) usually gets passed around for everyone to try (hopefully none of us have/will have mono), and especially when it comes to our coordinators/babysitters, if I'm going to the OK-Mart or local tea shop to get something to drink, I ask if they want something, "my treat."  Just because they are working so hard, and it's no trouble at all.  I guess the real question of how much Taiwan has changed me will come when it is extra trouble... will I still be just as generous?

Happy

To pick up where I last left off.... it is humid. Oh so humid. And today was the first day it broke 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  To give you an idea, it has been SO humid that he air surrounding us made my feet so hot (and this was back when it was 85) that my been-dry-for-one-week nail polish got smudged on my toes after wearing close-toed shoes.

Back to happier things... literally. Today was the first day I can say I was genuinely happy to be in Taiwan. Before I wasn't necessarily unhappy, but I didn't have the sun in my heart, love in my step, etc, etc, insert line from an old Hollywood film here.  However that changed on my first day of orientation. And honestly that's probably what changed it. Now I have something to do with my life.  Sure it was nice to have the first few days to relax.  But I think it was mentally hard to settle in because I wasn't/couldn't be in a tourist mind set, yet I didn't have much of a purpose of for my life other than wandering aimlessly about the streets of Taichung wondering what the heck I'm reading (I know I've studied Chinese for 3 years, but switching to traditional characters in a bunch of crazy fonts is, to put it bluntly, hard).

Freshly made udon noddles at udon noodle restaurant!

Entrance to a night market in Taichung

"Ladies and gentleman, it's now time for a segment of.... Thoughts on Taiwan"

1. Scooters.... so many scooters.  So many.  I promised many people I wouldn't ride them, but they do seem to be both the fashionable and most convenient way to get around.  Guess I'm stuck with my inconsistent yet air conditioned buses.  It actually does take some skill and a license to drive a scooter as we found out today during orientation, so I have gained a new found respect for the people who drive them.  And they are Taichung's (maybe all of Taiwan's?) minivan. Got a family of 4 that needs to go shopping? Throw everyone on the family moped, no problem.  I'm not kidding. The dad drove, mom rode behind him holding a baby in a harness around her, and the eldest kid (maybe 3-4?) stood in between the dads legs on the foot part of the moped looking up over the gauges.  I should have taken a picture, but I was honestly so shocked I forgot.  If I see it again,  it will go on record on my camera. 

Scooter scooters everywhere...

2. Dogs.... Taiwan people are the world's superior dog owners.  I've seen tons of adorable dogs and only 2 have been on leashes with no issues. Granted, about 50% have been carried, but it's still enough to be impressive. The most impressive sight was a woman who walked into the bank (where we were opening accounts) in an old-lady-I'm-awesome kind of way followed by her little Corgi trailing behind/beside her, no leash, and gazing up at her with excitement the whole time.  Another good one... my friend and I are waiting for a bus and along comes this woman with a collie close by her.  Suddenly the dog gets a little bit ahead and turns into a store and starts sniffing around. The lady keeps on going, doesn't bat an eye. My friend and I are like "Oh, must not be her dog."  Well after a few seconds, dog looks up and starts running around the sidewalk area back the way it had originally come from and back to the store, until finally it saw and ran after the woman. Woman didn't even flinch, and I have never seen a dog work so hard to find its owner.  Blows my mind.  In relation to scooters, the dogs ride on the mopeds all the time too.  Owners put them between their legs on the floor board toward the front. And when the scooter stops, the dogs stay right on. None of this dog jumping off and running in circles or whining not wanting to be on the scooter shenanigans.  I'm not endorsing this in anyway, I'm just emphasizing the solid behavior of these dogs... they were trained/told to stay on the moped, and they stayed.  Once again, I was honestly so shocked I forgot to take a picture.

3.  I think Taiwan could rival the US in fried foods.  Seriously, a lot of the food available here, especially in the form of street food, comes fried.  And street food is the majority of the type of food that you can find.  Sure they have restaurants, but they can be kinda expensive and not close to where I live.  So I've been working hard to get some vegetables and taking advantage of the tons of fresh fruit, but I'll definitely be excited to have more control over my diet once I get an apartment (aka a kitchen).

4.  I've cut back on my bubble tea consumption because common sense just tells you that sugar milk tea with glutenous starch balls every day just probably isn't good for you.  But it's so hard because almost every 3rd or 4th store is a bubble tea/fruit juice type place.  Many times there are 3 in a row.  Although my new obsession that I think would be great to see more of in the US is (I'm not really sure what the official English name is) fruit shaved ice.  The Korean name for it is Patbingsu and the Chinese call it "insert fruit/topping name-冰" It's just shaved ice mounds (think like ice cream, but just shaved ice) and covered with fresh cut fruit or red bean and condensed milk (a light amount). It's much lighter and fresher than ice cream, probably 1/2 the calories and sugar, and a very refreshing dessert.  And it's kinda healthy since you're majorly just eating ice and fruit.  So needless to say, my guilt does not go very high upon eating this.

Mango Shaved Ice- 芒果冰 \^-^/ Be jealous

Hopefully I won't end up gaining weight coming to Taiwan after leaving America :)