I think that Monday was the last day I have updated. These posts have started getting pretty lengthy so I will try to keep it shorter! So I will start with Tuesday! Tuesday was a good day. We had Chinese class all morning then lunch. Then we went to visit the Taiwan Beer factory. This was really cool because I have never been to a factory where they produce things like that. They took us behind the scenes of the factory and we went to the production rooms which is apparently illegal in America. After our tour, we went to Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall which was amazing! The building there were huge and beautiful with all of their intricate details. This is a very famous spot in Taiwan so we saw many other tourists there and did not feel COMPLETELY out of place for once. By this point, we were all starving, or at least I was. So we went to a well known dumpling place.
The next day I slept through my alarm and a knock on my door and was about 30 minutes late to class, but it was ok because our teacher was very gracious about excusing my tardiness... She talked about the statistics of men and women and the workforce here in Taiwan. After, we went to the Puppetry Art Center of Taipei. We made hand puppets that are awesome and we all had a fun time being creative making them. Then we went through the puppetry museum. It was all very interesting. Puppetry has been a form of entertainment for hundreds of years! After the museum, we went to the large department store next door and walked around for a bit and got a little to eat. But we were all tired so we headed back to Sansia for the night. I needed a night to relax so I went running and then watched Pretty Little Liars and The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All which is always my favorite episode of the season!! I was happy to find it on the internet!
Yesterday was a very good day here. The weather was really nice! We had Chinese class in the morning then went to lunch. Then the TAs helped us with a little bit of homework and I headed out for an afternoon run. So glad to be getting back into that habbit and getting back in shape! Our teachers invited us to come to one of their houses for an evening to make dumplings. We thought that it would be just like a class and be very instructional. Little did we know that this night would turn into a wonderful party with all of our TAs, our teacher's neighbors and friends! First we learned how to make dumplings and we each made our own! We cooked them and then ate together! One of our teacher's neighbors made soup for us and brought other little snacks for us to enjoy. They also has many different kinds of fruits like bananas, mango(which I am addicted to now), dragon fruit, grapes(which are large and taste more like plums, I think), watermelon, and durian (which all of the locals think stinks and won't eat, except that all of from the States enjoyed it haha). Also, one of her neighbors made her own wine and brought it over for us to try! Everyone here is so hospitable! It reminds me of the south and how everyone is always helping each other out! We also watched the movie The Book of Eli. I had never seen it before but it was right up my alley with all the action! I thought that this movie had a beautiful story line and point to it. I won't ruin it if you haven't seen it, but I really REALLY recommend it!
Today(Friday), we all slept in and then went to lunch. I am the only girl here for the weekend since Tiffany and Lily went to Mainland China and Hong Kong to visit relatives. So its me and the guys whether they like it or not! haha After lunch I went on a run. Its VERY hot here today. After the run, we were interview by a TV show crew that is apparently very famous. From what we could make of it, we are almost positive that they are going to voice over us speaking and add Chinese. So basically this is going to be like the Chinese version of MXC, that show on Spike... We decided that we might regret this decision to be on the show in September when it comes out. But hey, its all part of the experience. Maybe we will become famous here or something haha Hopefully we will be able to see a copy of whatever they have created our of our interviews...
Also, this afternoon I went to Southwood Presbyterian Church's website. This is my church back home in Huntsville. They post all of the church sermons and High Life(our youth groups) sermons. I remember my mom telling me that Mark Sterns preached a few weeks ago. I love Mark's sermons! So I decided to listen to it today. I love listening to him; he always preaches with such passion. It was good to listen to him. He spoke about looking for hurting people and being observant to others. He mentioned Isaiah 1:17 which says "learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." I also listened to Brock Warner's "The Beauty" talk which is always one of my favorite High Life sermons of the year. Listening to them both was very comforting and needed.
Anyways, I am getting too lazy to upload pics. See my facebook for more pictures than you will ever want to see! haha Today is the start of our 3 day weekend. Maybe we will go to the beach tomorrow! I'll keep you posted!
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30
Sounds like alot of fun and that you are enjoying the trip more. Miss you --warm fuzzies
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