Annie
Yellville, AR to Taiwan

Hey Everybody, 

I haven't sent an update in a while so here you go.  I've moved into my third host home which is great because I've been living in the same building in Taiwan for 6 months; my first and second host family only lived two floors apart.  I like the change.  The neighborhood I live in now is older than the one before so the buildings look cooler.  There are four temples on my street alone.  There are also lot's of street merchants selling all kinds of great snack food like fried chicken,sweet bread, and these really great rolls that are full of a number of unidentifiable ingriedients.  My new host family is great.  I don't have any brothers and sisters at the moment because my host family's two sons are both studying somewhere else.  My host father has started teaching me how to play piano,yippie!!  I may learn a talent after all.

The whole chinese thing has gotten a lot easier, but there is still alot that I don't know.  I'm working on it though.  I just wish I had more time to do this all in. 

Sorry this is so short, but there isn't much to write about at the moment.  I hope everyone is haveing fun wherever they are.

Annie ·~ ¥§

Hi Everyone,

I know it has been awhile since my last update so here is what's going on now.  I just got back from a weekend long exchange student trip to Eastern Taiwan yesterday.  It was a lot of fun.  After visiting a hot spring, we went to a temple high up in the mountains on Saturday and spent the night there.  It was really cool.  Buddhist monks don't eat meat so we had vegetarian breakfast and dinner and were not allowed to bring so much as beef jerkey into the temple.  Men and women were not allowed to eat at the sam table so the women sat on one side of the room  and the guys on the other.  I don't care though because that place was beautiful.  It was far away from everything, very peaceful.  I don't think I would like to be there all the time, but it was a cool place to visit.  On Sunday afternoon we stoped at the beach.  The coastal regions of Taiwan are breathtaking.  There are beaches in some places, but some parts of the cost are lined with high bluffs and cliffs.  When we got there some people went bike riding.  While the rest of us, most of whom are from land locked countries or live far from the ocean, went down to check out the water.  No one had a bathing suit so we all rolled up our pants and waded out into the waves.  Somehow though I guess I kind of, sort of, maybe fell in and before I knew it so did everyone else.  That was very interesting especially since it is the middle of December.  To look at Taiwan from a world map it just seems to be this tiny little dot beside China.  Most people will never know what a fantastic place it is.  It seems really beg wen you are standing by the ocean or trudging your way up one of the numerous mountains here.That is all for now.  I am sorry if some of my grammer is bad but I find the more Chinese I learn the worse my English gets.  Talk to yall later.

Annie

 

Da jia hoa (hi everyone)

Ok, here is the latest update.  i am starting to get use to living in the city.  I have figured out enough about the subway and bus system to get around on my own now which is good because there are lots of things I want to to do. 

The food here is great (with only a few minor exceptions).  Since Taiwan is an island there are many kinds of seafood to eat.  The barbecued squid on a stick is excellent. 

The weather here is so different.  It's October and still 80 degrees.  There is a lot of rain.  The other day I did not bring an umbrella to school since it was so sunny that morning, but it started raining that afternoon and I had to walk home in the pouring rain.  I was soaked but my host family got a good laugh and so did I once I was dry.

School is going pretty well.  Everyone is very helpful.  I have 2 chinese classes and they make me take a second language to so I am continuing my German study.  I've gotten use to the uniform but I still wish sometimes that I could wear my own clothes.  At least the shirt is my favorite shade of emerald green; however, the skirt reminds me of a big black circus tent : )

There are many places to shop here and I am going to my favorite today after school.  It is called Hsimen Ting, and it is like the Times Square of Taipei.  That is all for now.

Annie