#WeBelieve 8-0

Today is the day that Mississippi State plays Alabama.  Both teams are undefeated and this is quite possibly the biggest game that Mississippi State has played since I have been a student here.  It is my senior year and I have been proud to be a Bulldog through the ups and downs throughout the years and this season is no different.  But my pride in my school goes far beyond its football teams success.  So, tonight we will go into Bryant Denny Stadium with our heads held high, and no matter the outcome, tomorrow my heart will still well with pride for my Dawgs. Hail State.

On a completely unrelated note, my visa papers are sent off, I now have a host family, and I just found out that there will be 10 people starting Chinese class the same time that I do. I have been so busy that I haven't been able to get excited about my trip through the tests, papers, and work.  But as the days pass by, I am realizing how quickly that this month will pass by. This has been the fastest semester that I have ever had.  Graduation is becoming very real and very scary because I don't know what will be next but I am trusting that God's perfect plans for my life will fall into place.  As this football season ends, I am saddened by the thought that this is my last football season as a student and spending my Saturday nights standing in the student section and being showered with whiskey drinks when we score (ok, I won't miss that part).  I look back on my time at State and know that I have had the best times of my life.  My love for Mississippi State seems to increase everytime I walk onto that campus. God help me, I love this school.  But my time here is not over yet.  I still have one semester left.  It will be filled with spending time with my roommates and best friends, runs through campus, and the best spring  break ever (a cruise to the Carribean!!!).  More on that later.  Sorry for the sappy post.

Tickets Booked.

I'm officially going to China.  I have fought hard for the opportunity go abroad again and I am finally going.  I booked my plane tickets today. I will be in Beijing from December 10 until January 7! Through the host program, Education First, I am going to be staying with a host family and sharing a room with another girl in the program hopefully around my same age from somewhere around the world. I am thankful that I will know some girls who live in Beijing who had come to Mississippi State. I could not be more excited about this opportunity and am thrilled to be able to go out and see new things!!

It's Official.

I will officially be spending Christmas in China.  I will be living in Beijing, China for 4 weeks while I take classes and travel around.  I can't believe that after all this time and all of my attempts to travel abroad again I am finally getting to go and it is all working out. Hopefully I will book my plane ticket this weekend and start applying for my Chinese visa sometime next week!  Prayers that I will find friends and have a nice host family would be appreciated!!  I will be traveling alone and living in a place where I know no one.  I am going through this program called Education First, EF, so hopefully everything will work out!!

Christmas in China...??!!!

“We must go beyond textbooks,

go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness

and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.”

 – John Hope Franklin

For some reason I just can't shake the itch to get to China. SO I'm going. The tentative dates are mid December until the beginning of January. Daniel and I will be going to take classes that would let us finish our Chinese language degree and to travel!

In other news, I LOVE my internship. In the month that I've been at Travelers, I have learned more than I ever thought that I would learn. I am finding out that the insurance business isn't as boring as I thought. It is actually quite interesting and I am learning lots of information that will be very valuable for my future!

Since my trip to China will allow me to graduate in May, I have started thinking about where I want to be in the future. Graduation is less than a year a way and I have already started to look for jobs in the Marketing and International Business fields and anything else that sounds interesting. But more to come on this later!

Firm Believer in Spanking

When (if) I become a parent, I will spank my children.  I was spanked at least 1000 times during and probably a few times after my childhood and I'm sure I deserved every single one and then some. That's all I have to say about that. On that note... I am in Jackson, Mississippi now for the summer. I am working at Travelers which is an insurance company. I have been fortunate enough to be selected for the Summer Internship Program with this Fortune 100 company.  I have my own cubicle, my own email address, AND my own phone extension.  I will be making property and liability claims for people when they call in. I can't think of a better way to learn the world of insurance than to be thrown head first into it. Anyways.... this week is Cameron's birthday so I will be leaving Jackson and we will be going to a secret location for the weekend. Can't wait!!!!

It's Official.

I will be living in Jackson, Mississippi this summer where I will be doing an internship with Traveler's Insurance. I am SO excited for this opportunity and can't wait to see what God has in store for me this summer! My Russia trip is being postponed until August 9.

Well it is that time of the year again where I begin to question why I am in college, when all I want to do is lay by the pool but all I need to do is study for finals. Hopefully next semester will go a little better for me..... three exams stand in my way of summer and one year stands in my way of the real world. I have decided that if I do not graduate college with a job (and my mom just informed me that 1 out of every 2 college grads cannot find jobs- so encouraging) then I will get my pilot's license the summer after I graduate.  I can think of no better time than that to get my license. Also on my list of things to do: skydiving. Hopefully I will survive the rest of this miserable exam week so I can once again live a happy life.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

I haven't updated in quite a while and a lot has happened since my last posting.  My plans have changed and I will not be interning in China this summer. BUT I think I am going to Russia for a 10 day study abroad trip!  How's that for a new experience?? At the end of May, a professor will be taking a group of students to tour Moscow and St. Petersburg and I will be receiving school credit! As the semester is coming to an end, I desperately needed something to look forward to since my trip to China has been canceled. I have always wanted to learn Russian and now I think I finally will have an opportunity to!

On another note, this is Easter weekend and I surprised my parents and came home for the holiday.  I left all my school books and homework in Starkville because it will still be there when I go back.

Anyways, this trip to Russia will be coming fast and soon. We're talking like 5 weeks.  So things will be moving pretty quickly for that.  ALSO on more important news, 13 days and 10 minutes from right this very moment I will be turing 21 years old. That's less than 2 weeks.......... updates to come later!

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights;

it is a change that goes on,

deep and permanent,

in the ideas of living"

- Miriam Beard

Internship Offers!!!

I got several offers for internships for the summer!!!!!!! Stay posted to see which one I will end up with! I have phone interviews this week. Pray that they go well!

We decided that the best date to leave for China would be between May 12 and May 15th. That way we have plenty of time to travel to Beijing and Hong Kong (hopefully!!) before the internships start.  As the months are quickly going by (I ALREADY have a midterm next week!!) my excitement is growing with each passing day and as the internship offers have arrived, it is all finally starting to seem real that I will be spending almost 3 months in China. After returning from Taiwan and being in the States after, I have a whole new outlook on traveling and experiencing all there is to see in a world that is so unfamiliar to me.  However, I am frequently reminded of how it feels to be in a country where you know only a few people.  My conversation partner, Christina, from Beijing, has to rely on other people to take her to the store or to get food since Starkville is a place where walking around the town is basically impossible since it is so spread out. I am reminded of the kindness that was shown to us while we stayed in Taiwan and will be forever grateful for the people who spent so much time with us to keep us company and show us the best places to see.

On another completely unrelated note, on Valentine's Day this year I will be participating in Mississippi State Speed Dating. Yes, speed dating. Let's get real for a second, since I don't have any other plans, or a boyfriend, I thought that this might be an experience that would be interesting to experience at least once in my life.  Several friends are doing it with me so it should be a good time... or well, entertaining to say the least.  I know you are all very jealous of my V-Day plans so I'm sure there will be stories to come soon.

C's Get Degrees... Right?

It is the end of the 4th week of school for the semester and I am already stressed out about projects, tests, and homework. Each one of my classes is overwhelming and time consuming, and let's just be honest, I'm not off to the best start. Hopefully it will all turn around soon... It seems like the only thing I have to look forward to is China and that's 4 months away!! This picture is the Shanghai skyline. Now can you see why I am so excited?! Oh... and my 21st birthday :) Until then, I will be working to pay for some of this study abroad as well as trying to find study abroad scholarships!

Today, I got paired with a conversation partner! Her English name is Christina. She is the cutest girl from Beijing, China who will only be here for 4 weeks. I am so excited to get to know her! We spent several hours together tonight along with her friend Peggy who is also from China. Maybe when I go to China this summer I will get to spend time with them! My life has been consumed by researching different places to visit in China and things to see while I'm over there!

Internship Update: All my information has been shipped to China and the process has officially started!! Hopefully within the next few weeks I will have an offer from a company to work for this summer!! The people at GlobaLinks have been so helpful and this process has been very quick and exciting. I recently re-found all my pictures I posted on Photobucket from Taiwan. You can click here to see them!! One last thing. God is so good to me. I have really great parents who love and support all of my unrealistic dreams and goals no matter how far fetched or changing they may be.

Status Update

If anyone is following along on my internship process, I have just been accepted to the program!! The next step is for my information to be sent to Shanghai where someone from AsiaLearn will go to different companies on my behalf. Hopefully, I will end up with a list of options and companies to choose from. I will most likely work for a marketing or public relations company. I have requested to work for a larger company in China so we will see where I end up this summer!! It could take up to 8 weeks to complete the process but maybe I will find out sooner than later! Also, my friend Daniel, who also went to Taiwan with me will be applying for the same internship as I am so we will be in China together. Since he is going with me, we will both leave a week or two early so that we can travel around Beijing and see different things before we start our internships. The people from AsiaLearn have been so helpful and really seem to go out of their way to accomodate our wants and needs for this internship. I am beyond excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to see what the future holds for me!

Other than being slammed with school work ALREADY, everything is great! I am looking to graduate a year early, so fingers crossed, I will be graduating in May 2013! A year and a half away!!

In other news, I want to go skydiving for my birthday. I am thinking it will make a good spring break trip!! Stay posted!!

We will also start the birthday countdown.... 90 days til I'm 21!! Feels like an eternity, but I know it will fly by.

*Early* New Years Resolutions

I never have New Years Resolution. I hate them. They are basically a list of things that I will most likely never accomplish.

But not this year.

Here are 8 things that I would LOVE to do in 2012:

1. Cook 50 new recipes and add them to my cookbook.
2. Learn to drive a stick shift.
3. Read 4 books on my shelf that I've never touched before.
4. Go skydiving. (21st birthday, maybe??)
5. Run a half-marathon.
6. Make a music video.
7. Make plans for flight school.
8. Read the entire bible.

A few of these are some of the same goals I had this year, but obviously I was too lazy and they didn't get accomplished. The thought of only a year and a half left of school has left me excited and hopeful for what my future holds but also makes me realize all of the things that I still want to do while in college. Thoughts of living in a big city are quickly becoming more of a reality than a dream. And my plans for China this summer are coming to life! This next year is sure to be a whirlwind. And I'm ready for the ride.

Look out China, here I come!

After my trip to Taiwan, I was genuinely glad to be back in America and thought I would be happy staying in the States for a very long time. But after thinking about the goals that I want to accomplish in the future, I decided that going abroad again would be the best decision. After spending many MANY hours researching and studying up on all of the many programs out there, I think I have found the one. Thank you to the MSU Study Abroad office for being so helpful and patient with all of my questions. I could not be more excited about this trip. Because I still need an internship to complete my degree, I have decided to try to get an internship in China! I have started the application process with a company called GlobaLinks that will hopefully find the perfect company for me to internship with. It can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks to find a company that I will be a good fit. This time I will not let culture shock take a hold and deter me from experiencing everything that I can in China. I am looking forward to exploring on my own and seeing everything that China has to offer. I will be gone for 10 weeks this summer, interning and traveling around China.

I always said that if I ever got the opportunity to travel back to Asia, I would go to Hong Kong. So, we will see! Some things on my list of places to see include The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City in Beijing, the water town of Zhujiajiao, and ride the Shanghai Maglev, which is the fastest train in the world! I will be by myself in Shanghai and will not know anyone. Please start praying that I quickly make friends through my internship and through my living arrangements. May 28th is the day and is quickly approaching. More to come soon!

I have always heard...

everyone talk about how fast life goes the older you get.

I don't think i really believed that until this semester. I don't know if you all are keeping tracking of the timeline that is my life BUT I have almost finished my sophomore year of college. SOPHOMORE YEAR!!! This means that, Lord willing, I will have 2 more years of college to go (and I will even be graduating a year early for my major if all goes as planned!). What a scary thought. I will also be 20 years old in exactly 13 days which is exciting because it will mean that my mother will no longer have 4 kids in their teens which means that the days of her having moody children hopefully for her are quickly going.

Anyways, it is almost the end of the spring semester and entirely too much has happened. Where shall I begin...? Let's start with ROTC. I am 100% positive that ROTC is not the right life decision for me. I think that deciding to do ROTC was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Not only did I realize how different things really are in the Army, but it has helped shape my ambitions for the future. Even though ROTC is not for me, I have the utmost respect for the people who choose to go through the program. It has been challenging for me on so many levels. Although i could not be more happy to see the last days of 5am wake up calls from my ROTC comrade, Sarah, rapidly approaching, I am sad to see the early morning hours of bonding time with my fellow cadets quickly leaving. I will say that through ROTC I have experienced a bond between strangers like no other. I have one last PT test to take this Friday and a military ball to attend, then I will be done with ROTC forever.

Lets move on to International Business. I am now a MSU College of Business Ambassador. It is something I applied for on a whim and it has turned out to be one of the best things that I could have done. I have been able to meet influential MSU alumni and see how the behind the scenes of the College of Business works. I am also the intern for the youth group of the church that i have become an associate member of. I work with a guy who graduated from MSU last year. This youth group consists of about 6 boys about 8th grade and 1 girl in high school who I meet with one on one through out the weeks. VERY different from what I am used to at Southwood. But just as fun. We are going to paint our youth room and plan for fun events for this summer. I have loved every second of this and will hopefully be able to continue working with the youth until i graduate! This summer, I will remain in Starkville and I will be a server for a restaurant called the Veranda. I will continue to work there throughout the school year. I am very excited about this new job opportunity!

My grades are good and all is well with friends. I am involved in way too many things, I am entirely to busy all the time, and I am constantly tired, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Clean Apartment

It's been a while since I last updated, so I figured now was a good time to catch you* up on my life. Last semester ended in a whirlwind of emotions ranging from "am I going to pass my classes this semester" to "I just need to get home" to "am I ever going to be able to get this apartment clean?" to "WHEN IS 5:30AM PT GOING TO END". It's been a long, and hard semester full of many trials and really difficult things, but it has also been a wonderful semester full of good memories and time spent with great friends.

In the end, my grades turned out just how I needed them to. Maybe not the very best I could have done, but not terrible either. I had a lot on my plate last semester but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I would much rather experience college and do everything that I want to while I'm here than do nothing and make all A's. HOWEVER, this semester the goal is to have both- do everything that I want to do AND make all A's. That's the plan, I'll keep you posted on the progress. This semester is full of goals that I want to accomplish. This is the semester of learning Life Skills. Yes, Life Skills. The ones you need in order to be a good wife, like playing guitar, and cooking hahaha Since I can't cook or play guitar at all, this will be a challenge. But I'm up for it.

So, it's January 2, 2011. I am already back at my apartment eagerly awaiting the start of classes and the beginning of a new semester where I can meet new people and begin the quest of accomplishing all of my goals. My room and apartment is probably cleaner than it will ever be again but that's ok because I don't think I can live in a room thats spotless anyways. Well I'm off to sell books back and buy some new ones. Hopefully I'll update sooner rather than later next time.

*assuming that someone other than my mother** is actually going to read this **Mom, I've very glad that you read my blog

Time Flies

Well. Its been about 3 or 4 weeks since I've updated my blog. I'll try to make it short!! Since the day I got back from Taiwan, I haven't stopped going. Literally. With all of my classes and homework, ROTC classes, lab and morning PT, RUF and International Business stuff, my life is crazy. I finally have my room semi cleaned and mostly put away. This weekend has been very relaxing and lazy for me. My apartment and roommates are great and I have learned that I enjoy coming back to a quiet apartment so that I can just sit on the couch and watch tv. My friend William and I started leading an RUF bible study this semester and it is going great so far! ROTC and all of its events is starting off to a quick start. But everything is good! This week is the Auburn game and I will be on the field following EPSN around the whole game. I have a few friends coming to stay for the weekend so I am pretty excited about this week!! more to come later!!

Back stateside

After a long time of traveling, we FINALLY made it back to Birmingham around 9:30pm on Saturday night. Our only set back was that one of RObs suitcases didn't make it to the airport but hopefully they are working on it. We arrived at our hotel in Starkville around 12:30am and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. But since then, I have hardley slept and been going non stop. Which is OK. Just exhausting.

Well I have everything moved into my apartment, just not put away. Hhahaha If you have ever seen my room in Huntsville, you can probably imagine the state that it is in. I have entirely too many clothes to fit into this small room. But I consider that a good problem to have. Sunday was a really long day. After my parents helped me get everything up the stairs and into my room, they headed over to Tuscaloser to see my sister, who is officially a college student. I sat around on the computer for about 30 minutes before I went to buy some new running shoes (that are awesome by the way) and I ran to Wal-Mart to get a few groceries. Then I met up with Tina (one of the exchange students from Taiwan that is going to State this year) and her mom, and 2 aunts. I helped them move in and got everything situated. Then I went and picked up about 10 freshman to bring them to our first RUF get together of the year! It was a "freshman come meet people" type of deal and there was a GREAT showing of new faces! So excited about what God has in store on this campus! After running them back to the dorms, I went with my friend Drew (from HSV) to get food and brought it back to my apartment. Then we went upstairs to hang out with a bunch of my friends who conveniently live right above me! I will be spending the majority of my time there, I am sure. After running back upstairs and borrowing an alarm clock from the guys (since i have misplaced mine...) I went to bed around 2:30am.

Monday I woke up around 8:30 because I was supposed to drive to GTR (airport about 15 mins away from campus) to pick up the other exchange student from Taiwan BUT he called and said he missed his flight so I just sat around for a while with one of my roommates and was lazy for most of the morning. Then I headed to the Veranda for Tricia's birthday. After, I went and picked up Tina who was lost on campus and then we drove to pick up Kyle at GTR and then got him all moved in. Then we took a grand tour around campus. Then I skyped with my parents for a few minutes. Then I had to run to the RUF ministry team meeting. After, I came home and ran up to the guys apartment to return the alarm clock and introduce one of my roommates to them. I finally got to bed around 10:45pm. Oh, did I mention that I had a PT test Tuesday morning?

Well, its 7:00am on Tuesday right now. I woke up at 4:30ish this morning and relaxed for a bit then made my way over to the course. I did as good as I can expect after not being able to work out for 6 weeks. Running is still my worst part. But what else is new... Now I am exhausted but can't stop. Today is the day before classes. I have to sign some papers at ROTC, sign up for International Business Boot Camp, bake a cake or 2 and make a few signs for Tina's surprise birthday party we are having for her tonight. She turns 22 today. And she has no friends or anything here so we are going to make her feel right at home and introdce her to a bunch of RUF people. We are also going to celebrate Camerons late birthday. After I run all these errnads today, hopefully I will have time to clean my room and get it functioning as a room instead of a junk hole where I can walk without stepping on everything. Tonight we will take Tina and the other exchange student to dinner and then bring them to her surprise party. Hopefully it will be a sucess!

This week will continue to stay crazy. Tomorrow is the first day of classes, Thursday is my first day of ROTC lab and RUF starts for the first time for the semester. Friday after classes, everyone on Ministry team will leave to go to Philadelphia, MS until Saturday around noon for the Ministry team retreat. Then maybe I will have time to relax and rest. I want to do everything and "go, go, go" as my mom constantly tells me and I just can't do that right now. Just pray for endurance and for me to be able to function with a good attitude through my lack of sleep.

Travel Update.

Sooooo.... Rob and I did not sleep last night since our cab was picking us up at 4am. Everything was going smoothly. Drive to the airport was shorter than we thought, check in was easy. My baggage weighed .1 kg less than the max so PTL for that. We slept at the gate for a bit and then boarded the plane. And sat there for an extra 45 minutes due to delays in the computer system which caused us to miss our flight back to America by about 15 minutes. After practically running to the transfer counter to see if there was any way we could make it on the plane and almost breaking down and crying in the middle of the Hong Kong airport, they were able to find another route for us to get home, a few hours later than we were supposed to and an extra connection flight but it is ok. We are just tired and frusterated at this point and definitely ready to get back in America. Right now the sleep count is NO SLEEP FOR 28 hours going on 29. Since we missed our flight, they gave us vouchers to use in one of the 1000 resturants here. We just finished eating a delish hamburger and fries. In some ways this mis hap is a good thing because it breaks up the 14 hour flight. And we are safe so I can't complain. Hong Kong is definitely the place you would want to get stuck for a few hours. On a different note, Hong Kong looked amazing when we flew in. I am definitely going to add another country to my "TO GO" list!!

God is Good.

I don't know how it happened or really any of the details, but they have found another Chinese teacher and classes will resume. What a weight that has been lifted! Needless to say, we are all very relieved to see that Chinese is saved!! In prayer and petition, the Lord will provide.

I am back in Sansia and we have completed the last of our escapades in Taiwan. Let me fill you in on the rest of the trip. Wednesday we went to Kenting Beach where we rode on rafts pulled by jet skis for about an hour. It was probably the most fun I had the whole time. I absolutely love jet skis. And it just makes it all the more fun to be riding them in the middle of the clear blue ocean. If you have never experienced fun like this, you are seriously missing out. After a few near death experiences of almost flying off the rafts and hanging on for dear life, we played in the ocean and relaxed under the warm sun. Now, let me clarify what I mean when I say "relaxing under the warm sun" and let me tell you how Asians and Americans differ. I think I was the only person on the entire beach NOT sitting under a huge umbrella. I was soaking up as much sun as I could to try to get somewhat of a tan unlike every single Asian on the beach. I don't know if I mentioned this before but they do not like to be tan because they say that it makes their skin look dirty. Being completely pale is considered the most beautiful here as opposed to America where girls pay big money to sit in tanning beds to get as dark as possible. Well after we finished at the beach, we headed to Kenting Activity Center which is a youth hostel where we stayed for a night. It was a nice little area near a night market full of delicious food and very beachy stores much like something you would see at Gulf Shores or Panama City. That was a very early night for me because I was burned and completely wiped from all the excitement.

Tuesday I woke up in pain because I was sore from riding the floats the day before. And I'm pretty sure that I had a little whiplash haha We got up and drove to the Hakka Village in Kaohsuing where we ate traditional Hakka food and painted little paper umbrellas! Then we went to the biggest mall in Southeast Asia and then we went to get "ice" which is like a big bowl of shaved ice with a bunch of fruit on it and cream and stuff. Its pretty good! Then we drove to go see "Love River" and see the old British Consulate. Then we drove to our amazing hotel. It is the tallest building in the city. It is called Hotel 85. We were on the 31st floor with a huge window view facing the bay. It was a pretty incredible view! Lily, Tiffany, and I went out of the town for a little while and then came back because we were so tired!

This morning we woke up around 7:15am. We drove to Sun Moon Lake which was BEAUTIFUL! We got on a boat and rode around for a little while to look at the scenery. Then we went to where the aboriginals have shops and things like that. We spent a little time there and then ate some traditional food. After, we headed to a paper mill where we made our own paper and a paper fan. Then we headed to Taizhong to talk around for a bit. Then we headed home.

I think that it is safe to say that we have seen every noteworthy place in this entire country. The people that we have met are amazing and so interesting. People overflow with kindness here. I will miss walking down the street and hearing someone shout "Good afternoon!" because you can tell that they are so excited to be able to try out their English, and hearing a little kid say "Mei guo ren"(American) as they pull on their mothers shirt to get her attention, and the mountains, and the breath taking views from atop roofs in the middle of the city, and the ocean, and the phrase "huan ying guan ling" when you walk into any store or restaurant, and I will miss all of my new friends dearly.

It is 12:30am here right now and in about 3 and a half hours, I will leave NTPU and head for the airport for my 6:30am flight. After about 24 hours of traveling, I will be back in Starkville! But my life will continue to fly at about a million miles a minute probably for the next month. But I could not be more excited about it. I have committed to probably way more things than I can handle all at once but I will somehow find a way to manage. Here is a rough sketch of how this next week will look for me: I will arrive Saturday to Birmingham around 4:30pm then I will drive straight to Starkville that night. The next morning I will move into my new apartment!! :) That night I have an RUF get together to go to. The next day I have meetings! The next day I take my PT test for extra scholarship at 5:30am and I will celebrate my new friend's birthday who is a Taiwanese exchange student! Then classes start the very next day. That weekend I have leadership retreat for ministry team for RUF. Then real class starts. Please continue to pray for my and my safety traveling home and for the safety of my friends who are traveling separate from Rob and I. Also please pray that I will quickly recover from jet leg since I have no time to be "out of it" at all! And I have started to get a cold. This is not good. Pray that this will be a quick sickness and that it will pass very soon!

Even though I am finished with my trip, I still plan on updating my blog to keep everyone updated on my life. Feel free to read it if you would like!

Since I am not sleeping tonight, I have found that I have had a lot of free time to catch up on a few things. Since I know that I have been slacking on adding pictures to my blog and if you don't have facebook and were unable to see the pictures on my facebook, I have put all of my photos on Photo Bucket. Click on this sentence for the link!! :)

I would update right now BUT...

I'm too mad.

We just found out that Chinese class was cancelled this semester due to low enrollment. The dean cut funding for it. This does not sit well after having just completed a very expensive study abroad revolving around the Chinese language. Don't worry though, we have just started a plan of action. Already made several phone calls to officials at MSU and contacted others taking Chinese. We are meeting with the Dean of Arts and Sciences hopefully sometime early next week. I will keep you posted on the current situation.

I used to say that I hate the beach except for Cancun...

But you can't hate this:

Well, Saturday and Sunday did not turn out like I had planned, but were relaxing and much needed, to say the least. I slept for til basically 5pm on Saturday and got up long enough to run, eat, and spend a little time on facebook. Sunday I slept in and then did laundry. We also ventured into the Carrefore(chain sort of like Wal-Mart). Daniel Spencer got a $100NT haircut which is about $3 US. What this $100NT haircut includes is 10 minutes of a hairdresser snipping at your hair hahaha Needless to say, I had to leave the room for a minute while he was getting it cut because I was afraid of how it was going to turn out. It actually ended up looking much better than we all thought!

Basically, these next 5 days we are taking a road trip around the island. We are on a tour bus that is going to take us all over the place. I love roadtrips! This is like the best kind of road trip though because we are on a spaceous bus with TVs, karaoke, and we make stops at all of the noteworthy places of Taiwan. What more could you want?!

Monday morning we got on a bus and headed to Hualien to go to Tarokos Gorge. It took about 4 hours and then some to get there. We drove through the mountains and next to the Pacific Ocean. Its absolutely breathtaking here. It is amazing to see God's creation untouched by humans. Tarokos Gorge is this HUGE gap in between these two mountains that was carved by water thousands of years ago. It is a pretty cool thing to see. After walking around there for a little while, we went to another place about 2 hours away to make bandanas or "toujin" as they are pronounced in Chinese. This time I actually made different designs on mine. They dyed them different colors. I picked olive green. It turned out so good! Pics to come later. Then we went to a small restaurant in the middle of no where to have dinner. It was Chinese buffet style where they bring out many different dished continuously. After that we went to our "homestay" which is basically like a little house with small rooms. We had a mattress on the floor(which is a step up from what we are used to, but still hard as a rock) and a bathroom in each room. It was a very quaint little place! I liked it! We were supposed to go look at lightening bugs by the river last night but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out so I missed that little adventure.

This morning we ate breakfast at the homestay and then drove about an hour to get to a river where we rafter for about 4 hours. Everything here is so scenic. On our rafting adventure, we were in between all of the mountains. Everywhere we looked was covered with vegetation and trees. At one point, we turned the corner and there were 3 huge water oxen just drinking water out of the river. It was like we were on a safari or something haha. After lots of fun on the river, we drove for about 2 and a half hours to get to our restaurant and then headed to our hotel by the hot springs. The hotel is pretty nice and we are excited to have our own actual beds. Tonight, Tiffany and Queenie(our guide from NTPU who is a student here) spent the evening relaxing in the hot spring pools which consist of 3 different pools that are like a sauna. One pool is freezing cold, the next one is warm, and the last one is burning up. It was so nice. I enjoyed every second of it. Then we headed to the convenient store down the street to get a few snacks. Today was pretty tiring but extremely fun. Tonight I will continue to enjoy internet and a night in my nice bed.

Oh also, SIDE NOTE: Today, after rafting and a long bus ride, Lily, Tiffany and I were delirious I think (or at least we will blame this on that reason). Well we were at the restaurant and the bathrooms were outside. Now, the bathrooms here are different to begin with. And they are not so private. Well, we walked right into the bathroom with this sign on it:

and then we all remembered that we weren't carrying any toilet paper with us. Tiffany dug through her bag and luckily found some. As she was handing it out to us, a man walked in and started using the urinal without any hesitation. Lily made the comment of "Oh, I didn't know that guys use this bathroom too." We didn't think anything of it. Well, after we got out of the bathroom I saw a woman walk right past the door we were standing in front of and into another door. With a pink sign. As we were noticing this, a woman walked past us and heard us laughing and talking about how we went into the wrong bathroom and stopped and laughed at us hahaha Oh it was funny.

Tomorrow starts a whole new adventure. Stay tuned!!! 3 more days left in Taiwan!