Christmas in Taiwan

Saturday the family and I went to Taipei to eat at a dumpling shop that I've wanted to try since I got here, 鼎泰豐. It was delicious and I'm so grateful 媽媽 put in the effort to get a reservation at this crazy time of year. We tried many different dishes and even had an interesting Chinese dessert. We then walked around Taipei 101 and the streets near. We enjoyed seeing many Christmas lights and people, even animals dressed up. We got home very late due to traffic on the way back to Taoyuan.
 Yesterday was Christmas Eve and my Rotary district was to have a Christmas party for the exchange students. 爸爸, my friend Sigurd and I went to buy decorations last minute and took a lot of time to pick them out. We chose fairly good decorations and made the very plain room a little bit more festive. We were also to bake or cook foods from our countries for everyone to try. I made Beavertails, a Canadian dessert. My friend CJ made southern mashed potatoes and gravy. I was really craving gravy. Speaking of CJ, we also did secret Santa and I was his secret Santa. I knew exactly what to get him. He previously complained to me about not having a tripod for his camera. So I went and looked for a tripod for weeks until I found one within the price limit of our secret Santa. I saw it and bought it right away. I also bought him a teddy bear head "from Santa." I was very happy with my decision on the present and I think he was too. Its not the best quality but its what I could get in the price range. He also owns a nice one in the US so it only needs to last six months. My secret Santa was one of my best friends, Bia. I had no idea, she was very good at hiding this from me. She got me the most adorable Totoro sweater that I am wearing right now. I love it.
Today its Christmas day and I am at school. I don't completely understand why, but it is a requirement by our rotary district that we go to school on this day. I honestly think that its a little inconsiderate but maybe that's cause they don't explain their decisions to us. I am also getting a cold and my throat hurts very much. Could be a much better Christmas. Tonight me and the family will open Christmas gifts and I'm excited for everyone to see what I got them. Hopefully they all like them. I am now going to video call my family in Canada and hopefully do so without any Wifi problems.

Christmas is coming

Friday I was at school all day as usual and went to another photography club for the first time without Keyle. I was a lone for some of the time but then one of the leaders came over to translate. But since I had taken a photography class in Canada I already was taught about what the photographer was saying. I did enjoy talking to her though, she had many questions about Canada, snow and our type of Christmas. She is a very nice girl and I hope she keeps me company on other club meet days. I like photography club but most kids are too afraid to talk to foreigners so I usually end up alone. Its already quite lonely at school without noticeably being segregated. i really want to be part of the club but it seems a little pointless if I'm just alone all the time anyway. After lunch I went to the library, one of my daily routines to study and work on a power point about Canada and myself for a presentation to my Rotary club. The library is a very cosy place to study, I sit in the comfiest chairs at a cute little table with lamps and fake plants. I always get water from the library too because that's the only water fountain with cold water. At night I went to my Rotary meeting to have dinner and get my monthly allowance. As always, everyone asks how my Chinese is going and speaks as fast as they can it seems. No one seems to realize that even if I have vocab, I need them to speak a little slower than they do normally. Just as how they ask me every time I speak English, to slow down. Works both ways. That night I also got  爸爸 to try blue cheese. He smelt it and thought it was western version of stinky tofu (it smells a lot.) He didn't like it very much.

The next day, I video called my parents and rested for the whole day. At night we went to dinner with a few rotarians from my club and got pizza. I hoped we'd get pineapple pizza. They always order seafood pizza and its really not good in my opinion. Sea food is good, just not on pizza. We went to a very Italian restaurant and had platters of cheese (including blue cheese, I was the only one to eat it) and meat. No sea food pizza was ordered. I got my favourite pop, mountain dew, that's only imported for that restaurant and a delicious brownie dessert. 妹妹 and I went to little 小米 house after to play with the dog and her. I also witnessed my first giant spider. It was the size of my hand. No one knew whether or not it was poisonous and just left it there. In the garage. Where their dog sleeps!
Today was Sunday and I went to lunch at my favourite dumpling house with Bia. We also enjoyed dessert at a new shop, owned by a family friend. It was Noir. I have tried it once before and its expensive but I love it. We then went towards the train station, which is about a fifteen minute drive from my house (with traffic) and bought many more Christmas gifts for people. I finished buying for my host family and both secret Santas I am involved in this year. I am very excited for Christmas. We also went to my favourite bakery and had very delicious bread as usual. We met up with Sigurd, another close friend of mine, and continued to shop around. I also bought myself a purse that I really wanted and some patches that I will collect and make clothes for myself from back in Canada. Later on I bussed home and joined 爸爸 and 妹妹 to go to Ama and Agongs house for dinner and more dessert. We had hot pot, which isn't my favourite, and Ama always makes me my favourite pork chops and potatoes. I love Ama. She's the best. After dinner we walked to the night market and 妹妹 and I tried many claw machines with no wins. I got a couple more things for myself for Christmas (from other people just chosen by me) and am very happy with a new sweater and a Totoro backpack! I am very excited for Christmas and I hope everyone liked their gifts. I can't wait for them to be opened.

See you soon, never goodbye

My family got the box I sent to them last week, very fast considering it got there in eight days. I video called them and in the morning, their night. Then called them again my night and their morning and made them open the box. I was so excited because I love the things I bought for them and I hoped they would too. They did, there was lots of candy, pocky and food. As well as a shirt for my dad and a sweater for my mom. I was very happy to see them try on the clothes and they fit perfectly. I was worried because clothes here fit different than clothes in Canada. My sister and her boyfriend also loved their gifts that I bought from the Studio Gibli store a while back. It was excited and I can't wait to hear what they think of all the food. They will be sending the same box back to Taiwan with their Christmas gifts for me and the family. I hope that gets here just as fast as mine got there. We will see soon enough. 
Today I relaxed for most of the day then headed out to the airport to say goodbye to a friend from Brazil whose exchabge year has now ended. She is such a kind positive person and I wish she could've been part of my entire year but I'm just very thankful to have met her and hope to see her next year in Brazil. It was very emotional with tears from me and her closest of friends. She has about a day and a half until she gets back to Brazil with her family. She was nervous for the flight because it was only her second time travelling by plane, I told her it will be mine as well and we tried to talk through some things before the many hugs and tears of her departure. There are three more people to go home in the next two months and one will be this coming Wednesday, one of my best friends, Keyle. I've gone to school with her for the past few months and I will miss her so much. Its going to be another very emotional day at the airport on Wednesday. It makes me feel a little better that I will most likely see them in January or February of 2019 but I still am very sad to say goodbye for now. For the next two days I will hangout with Keyle before she leaves on Wednesday. Another difficult goodbye to come. Or a difficult 'see you soon' shall it be.

Trip 1

Monday was the start of my districts first culture tour. It's a three day tour to the south of the island. We woke up at five thirty to get to the tour bus at six thirty. Once everyone arrived we left Taoyuan at seven to head towards Tainan in the south. It was a good bus ride watching movies and listening to music, as well as trying to sleep. We stopped in Tainan and went to an old temple and went on a boat ride down a little river. The river had many little crabs and oysters. It was a short boat ride but it was cute and entertaining. At the temple 爸爸 bought me a lucky charm. Its a fabric envelope with a jade pendant hanging from it, we prayed and charmed it by circling it around the incense three times clockwise. I am to keep it with me at all times for good luck and fortune. After this we were off to salt mountain, a hill made of actual salt. We climbed to the top and took photos. The amount of time we were to have there seemed like way too long. A couple friends and I explored a bit and took photos of other things, like a bridge, a giant owl and my favourite, a giant lucky cat. Everyone loved the lucky cat, it was huge and very cute. There was a girl there taking her graduation photos and that confused me because I know there are so many more beautiful places to take pictures in Taiwan. I wonder why she was taking them there. At some point during the day we went and ate lunch at a famous restaurant and had many of Tainans' dishes. Later in the night we were going to a big night market to try more foods and were given three hundred Taiwan dollars each for our meals. I had fried dumplings, as usual, and a very good Turkish wrap from a man who had lived in Taiwan for fifteen years and had a child with a Taiwanese woman. Half way through making a bunch of our wraps she had taken over because their son was very hungry and kept begging him for a sandwich. I said hello to the boy but he just stared at me blankly, said Hi then walked away. I spent a little more time with 爸爸 because he was leaving right after the night market. We all went back to the bus, said goodbye to 爸爸 and were on our way for another boat ride on a larger river. It was a gorgeous river during the night, the city lights were very pretty. We got descriptions of our surroundings and enjoyed the view very much. There were musicians on the side of the river playing music the whole time. We saw birds hiding in the bridges, probably where they sleep at night. After the boat ride we were off to the hotel to stay the night. Curfew is at eleven and the rooms are checked then also. I was in a room with Bia and Laetitia so my room was very fun to be in.
Tuesday being the second day of the trip, we had a six thirty wake up call. We were to have breakfast at seven and pack and leave the hotel for eight. We then drove two hours to an aquarium/museum and saw many interesting sea creatures. I even saw penguins and seals. Which I love. I bought myself a seal stuffy which in my opinion was expensive but almost everything is expensive to me. A few friends, our chairmans' daughter Mickey and I all ran around the aquarium exploring and looking at gift shops. Mickey even got a matching seal stuffy with me. I made her host brother, my friend Erik, buy it for her. We went to lunch at Mcdonalds, even though its my last choice while I'm in a country with such good food. Then headed to the beach. For me it was a hot day and warm water, the most beautiful beach I have been to in my life. The water was blue and clear and very nice to swim in, the waves were giant and powerful. I was amazed by the beach but a few hours later and any beach can get a little boring. I've never been a beach person but if there were more like that in Canada, maybe I'd go more often. As I said, for me it was hot but for others, like my friends from Brazil, Mexico and Australia, it was a cold beach day. They kept saying I would die if I go to their countries but I will find out eventually. Especially Brazil where I will hopefully be heading in January of 2019. After many photos and a lot of swimming we were off to our hotel. It was very old on the outside and seemed as though it wouldn't be so modern inside the rooms. Then walking into our room and seeing it so new and comfortable I was very pleased. The outside had just nice old architecture and the inside was so nice. Our room was a little larger than most with more space in the main room and the washroom. The bathroom had seperate doors for both the toilet and the shower as well as the door to enter the washroom. All the doors for the bathroom were glass but not able ti be seen through so you could shower when someone else was getting ready at the mirror. We were lucky because there were also only three of us, where as every other room had four. In the evening we went to another famous night market like street. We all bought more food and small things because it was a tourist attraction and they are always more expensive. Except my friend Ghabriel doesn't seem to realize that and went on a full our shopping spree. He doesn't really think before spending money but that's a problem for him to realize I guess. I had the biggest corn dog ever and bought a small handmade bag in the shape of a common food here in Taiwan. In Taiwan people eat rice with roasted peanuts and meat wrapped in seaweed in the shape of a pyramid. So I bought a little bag in the exact same shape of those rice things. I've only had those a couple times but I like them when they are sticky rice, not just white rice. We had to be back at the hotel for ten thirty and Keyle, Bia and I made it just on time with out pizza. We ate and A few other friends and I went to a beach that one of them found behind the hotel while exploring. It was gorgeous. We even went back the next morning. The view was just as amazing as it was at night. I found many beautiful shells. Then off to breakfast and after, to the most southern spot on the island. While I was there I was thinking where the closest piece of land was from that spot. We drove for about ten more minutes and went to a little look out as a surprise to celebrate my amazing friend Bias' birthday and all the others in November but mostly Bias'. We had cake, balloons and gave Bia her birthday gifts. Driving for two more hours and then lunch. Ten minutes away from the restaurant we went to a Buddhist museum/temple. There I learn very much about Buddha and the beliefs that follow him. Saw the largest statue of Buddha in the world and it was beautiful. The side buildings of the museum were Chinese style. The main temple where the statue lay on top was Indian style because that is where it originates. I asked the tour guide if there were any books in English and how much they would cost. There were and they were free "a gift from the founder" they said. I am only just in the beginning of this book but I already enjoy it very much. I have always had an interest in Buddhism and now that my Ama is Buddhist and I have the right resources I will read more into it and see what it is really about. I bought a bracelet at the museum, a pin and some incense scented soap. Again we were on the road for a couple more hours until we were to stop and have dinner. I bought lasagna and mashed potatoes. I sure did miss mashed potatoes. I ate them so fast. I got subway cookies and then we headed home to Taoyuan. I slept a lot last night because the nights before I only got an hour or two each. 
Today I was with rotary practicing my Chinese and greeting Rotarians to Taiwan for a big convention at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. I had lasagna again for lunch. I am now relaxing reading "Humanistic Buddhism" and listening to music.