Forget about Paris...

Maybe it's just because I've been in the backwoods of Wisconsin for two months, but I've noticed that Taiwan is incredibly romantic. 
Now that all of the men have stopped reading (haha!) let me explain myself.
This weekend, a big group of us went to the zoo and Danshui (a port area with a night market). As I walked around both areas, I couldn't help but notice how cute the couples are in this country. 

ooo look a panorama!

It seems (and this may be a stereotype, but it seems to be found true time and time again) that the men here are much kinder and more respectful to their girlfriends/fiancees/wives. 
Seriously.
They carry purses, hold hands, wear matching shoes (that one's a little weird haha) ...
And it's not just one guy I have seen doing this; it's all couples. 
It's incredibly endearing.
Now, I'm not saying that all American men are jerks, I'm just saying that it seems that Taiwanese men overall are more romantic. 

How could you not fall in love here?! It's so beautiful.

Perhaps it's a cultural thing. 
Maybe the boys are taught to treat their loved one kindly and with respect and don't get as corrupted by media that shows what love isn't.
I can honestly say that since I have been here, I don't recall seeing a single argument between a couple. 
That's not to say that they don't have them, but, overall, the couples seem to have the right balance. 
This is just an observation, I'm not going around and taking surveys, but love here looks different. 
It's not an "all up on your bidniss" kind of love, and it's not a "let's fight every minute of every day" kind of love, it's just love. 
I like it. 
In Danshui, there's a bridge called Valentine's Bridge (or Lovers' Bridge or a bunch of other translations :D) and it's a famous area for dates. 

the bridge. 

We went there as a big group because it's a very beautiful area, and walked on the bridge. As we were walking back, I noticed a group of people standing in a circle with a boy holding (I kid you not) a five dozen rose bouquet and some sort of sign and a girl crying and talking into her cell phone. 
A proposal, right? 
At least that's what us mei guo rens (Americans) were thinking.
NOPE.
The boy asked the girl to be his girlfriend.
That's.it.
I realize this was probably some special out-of-the-ordinary thing, but it just struck me as a perfect example of how the men in this country treat relationships. 
I think in the US we throw around relationships like they are nothing. 
I don't like that. 
I mean, I understand that you don't have to think you're going to marry every single man you date, but I don't think that romance should be so artificial. 
Love just seems more real here.
Who knows, maybe it's the heat.
Maybe it's the jungle.
Maybe it's all the cute Asian babies.
haha :) 
Taiwan is just a romantic place. 


I haven't just been observing love this weekend (although it seems like it from the novel I just wrote), I also tried a boatload of really random foods. Taiwan is known for its crazy foods, and I tried a bunch of them (I'm not going near that thousand year old egg though. Nasty.) at the night market in Danshui.

everything's a little different here... (that's squid)

 stinky tofu? more like stinky NO-fu! 

 green bean noodle filled tofu...in Campbell's Tomato Soup (at least that's what we think!) 

 And you thought deep fried butter on a stick was weird...try pig's blood cake!

These were some tasty bits: green onion filled pork! yum.

Food here is SO FLIPPIN CHEAP. (I think I talked about this in an earlier post, but fo' real!)
It makes it easy for a group to go out and buy a bunch of different things and share. Some were surprisingly tasty, and some were incredibly gross. It was quite the adventure!

 quite the ice cream cone...bahaha!

This much iced tea for less than a dollar?! Fuh realz?!

Today, I returned to the church I went to last week, but this time I went alone. All alone. It was awesome.  I felt so independent! Don't get me wrong, I REALLY enjoy the other uwrfers on the trip with me, but it was just nice to go alone. I even took a different way home and didn't get lost! So much fun :) 
Tomorrow's class is looking like it will be mystery themed! Got to play some Mafia!

Danshui. <3

With love from Taiwan,
Lauren.

ya gotta watch out for those hippos!

You and Me Go Squiddin' in the Dark

When I am old and gray, I will still be telling my loved ones about last night. Squidding is going to be my, "Not again..." story because it was the most amazing thing I have ever done. 
First of all, yesterday in general was pretty much fabulous.
My class is awesome, and we got to look at pictures about each student's life. I love getting to know them! Then we danced.
Cha Cha Slide.
YMCA.
Cupid Shuffle.
Electric Slide.
All very important dances to know if you wish to learn about American culture. 
It was great. (except for the part where I was drenched in sweat, but that's not important)
Since we teach Monday through Thursday, our first week was over.
crazy.
Like I said in a previous post, it feels like I've been here forever, but I wish I could just pause time so that I could stay here for longer. 
Because we didn't have class today, Susan (the director of our program) planned a trip to the port city of Keelung to go squidding.
SQUIDDING.
Now that's something you don't hear about every day.
Although it sounds amazing, if you know me at all, you know about my deep, deep abhorrence of anything slimy.
snakes
worms
frogs
fish
snails
yuck. They make me almost vomit every time I encounter them. 
SO, when I heard we were going squidding and I tied squid, fish, and fishing together...well, let's just say I was a little bit worried. Okay, a lot of bit.
Luckily, the bus ride up to Keelung was very enthusiastic and filled with snacks and motion sickness medication, so by the time we got to the port I was beyond stoked to hunt me some squid.

 Fellow squid fisherwomen. 

SNACKS!

When we got on the boat, Susan told us that the captain's wife bought shrimp before we arrived, and that we would have fresh shrimp with our fish and squid. 
Generally, I'm not a big fish/seafood person, but "When in Taipei..." 

Shrimp+ pi jiu= mm mm good!

I don't even remember how to use a fork. 

Squid= meh. (you can't like everything, eh?!)

We learned how to fish, and I tell you what, if fishing was that exciting all of the time, then I would become an avid fisherwoman. There were only maybe four times that I didn't reel in a fish. 

I'm a pro.

The fish we caught were called Bai Dai or Ribbonfish in English. 
They're some ugly buggers. 

The little ones on top were caught in the squid net, 

the nasty big ones are the ones we caught.

Like shiny, silver snakes with big ol' teeth. 
Nasty.
BUT...I touched it! 
AND...I took one off the line all by myself!
AND...I didn't die!
How exciting.
The night was filled with firsts for me, good friends and scrumptious food and drinks.
I got to try Taiwan Beer for the first time, and it was pretty tasty! 

We capped the night off by singing Under the Sea while riding into shore.
This can't be real.
No person gets these opportunities.
I'm going to start bruising myself from pinching so hard to see if this is actually real life. 

Eating the fish you caught on the boat where you caught it... priceless

So, so blessed.
With love from Taiwan,

Lauren.

This picture was taken for purely educational purposes. 

(not because I wanted to show off...)

Excuse me, my American slipped out.

It's really amazing to think that five days ago I was in the United States. 
I feel like I have been here for a month. 
Not in a bad way, in a comfortable way. 
I can travel on mass transit without batting an eye, order food from waitresses who don't speak English, and convert NT dollars to US dollars at break-neck speed. 
It's really a great feeling. 
I even feel like I belong. 
The only problem I have is that I am loud.
If you thought I was loud in America, it's a thousand times worse here. 
Not because I'm being obnoxious; it's just that everyone is so quiet. 
There are even rules against being loud on the bus (I don't take the bus very often... :D ) 
I find it to be a very interesting cultural difference, and apparently it's obvious from both sides of the fence because several of my students have talked or written about how forward, aggressive and loud Americans are. 
Surprisingly, one of my students said that she thought it was better than the think first approach that Taiwanese people have. 
Yet again, the grass is always greener. 
My class today was swell. 
I feel like we're really connecting, and they enjoy class. 
Two of my students even brought me out to lunch at Mos Burger! It's a Japanese "fast food" chain with delicious food.

A "rice" burger. No buns, just two slabs of rice. SO GOOD.

They like the class structure (we sit in a circle and do lots of activities), and I'd have to agree that it's working out well for both the class and myself.
That is something America really got right.
We know how to work a language classroom. 
Although I'm sure lecture works quite well for many people, time for authentic practice makes learning English real. 
Teaching in Taiwan is definitely helping me to hash out my true philosophy of teaching. 
Authenticity.
Meaningful exercises.
Even amounts of reading, listening, speaking and writing.
Fun. 
Interaction.
All of these things make a happy classroom.
I'm so blessed to have this opportunity. 
Starting up some mythology bidniss tomorrow. 
With love from Taiwan,
Lauren.

Here's proof that I drink water. 

A bottle count is in progress.

p.s. We may have gone to Pizza Hut tonight, but it's okay because I'm confident enough in my nativeness to go to an American restaurant. Oh, and it was completely different.

Obviously Pizza Hut would have guava, papaya, lychee jelly, egg pudding, and pesto...

I'll have the usual: black pepper steak, Japanese teriyaki, and sweet and sour chicken pizza.

You know, nothing out of the ordinary. 

Shaved Ice and Cream Puffs... Am I at the State Fair?

What a great day. 
My class is really phenomenal. I truly enjoy every one of them.
It's amazing how much we learn from each other every day. 
We talked about seasons, stereotypes and did a tour guide activity.
It was pretty great seeing their reaction to the pictures of the crazy blizzard we had last winter. 
It is impossible for me to imagine never seeing snow. weird. 
The tour guide activity was a lot of fun because they were able to plan a trip for me around Taipei that included four stops. 
I'm definitely going to use them! In fact, a group of us are planning on going to Danshui (a pretty awesome beach...or so I'm told) and the Taipei Zoo (PANDAS) this weekend! 
I think the most interesting part of class was our discussion of stereotypes. I thought they would have mainly negative stereotypes about America, but that wasn't the case. Instead, their stereotypes were mainly focused on how outgoing and forward Americans are (I think I feed into this stereotype...oh well!). One interesting stereotype that is prevalent in Taiwan is that being pale is beautiful. 
Yes, you read that right.
Pale. 
Girls here use whitening creams on their skin and use SPF umbrellas whenever there is a chance of sun. 
Talk about a case of "the grass is always greener"...
Here I am working on my tan so I have a nice summer "glow" and girls here are hiding as much skin as possible from the sun. 
My hypothesis is that it is because it is so gol darn hot here. The sun is always here, and it is always hot.
In Wisconsin, we only get a nice hot sun for a few months, so when it finally comes, we run out and bathe ourselves in it. 
If only we all could just enjoy the way the good Lord made us...
After class, we went to Ed's cafe (a popular stop for us because Ed loves Americans and speaks English to us) for iced coffee and then enjoyed some wonderful Justin Bieber/Nicki Minaj/90s Rap singer music. 
When we finally decided to move, we went to a different mall from last night, and I think I found out what is eaten in Heaven. 
Brown sugar shaved ice with mango, bubble tea and Din Tai Fung dumplings. 

Yes, that is shaved ice. 

Love me some tapioca!

so sheepin' good.

SO TASTY.
We also snacked on cream puffs as we walked around.
Don't tell the WI State Fair, but they have nothing on the cream puffs from that shop.
amazing.

Cream puff, ma? 

Oh, and we found a delicious imported beverage in a fancy grocery store.
You may know it, it's called 
Mountain Dew. 
Sound familiar? Maybe it hasn't come to America yet... :) 
(Yes, I bought one. No, I don't regret it!)

MERICUH

Din Tai Fung, the restaurant we went to, is quite famous in Taiwan (from what I've been told) which would make sense because we had to wait about an hour before we were finally seated. 
totally.worth.it.
Bottomless cups of Jasmine green tea, dumplings, buns, and a spectacular atmosphere made it probably one of my favorite Taiwan experiences yet. 
It definitely helped that the whole meal for four of us cost 750 NT (about $26USD). 
Food is so cheap here.
It's wonderful. 
Food, food, food, that's all I talk about. Maybe some day I'll become a philosopher.
Tomorrow's class is going to be based around fortune telling!
Until then,
With love from Taiwan,
Lauren.

The MRT station is so artsy!

Hi Chew, My Love.

I'm going to use the kissing principle on this post and not write a novel 'cause I'm plum tuckered out. 
Today was the first day of classes, and my class is GREAT!
We didn't have too much direction, so it was tough trying to figure out what to do, but I'm pretty happy with the way class turned out. 
I can't wait to learn and teach more! 
The best part of this whole trip is the calmness I've been feeling.
Everything just seems right. It's weird. 
In America, I feel restless. I think I will spend the rest of my life traveling and learning. 
That sounds perfect.


Now I must let you in on a little secret.
I've fallen in love.
I can't imagine my life without
Hi-Chew.
Serious.
I could write an ode to this deliciously fruity taffy-like candy. It comes in amazing amounts of flavors and every one of them are amazing (except I'm not going to try the kiwi because it looks like there is honey on it and I can't stand the taste of honey here. The bees poop some crazy tasting stuff over here. I swear they only feed them perfume.)
This evening, Dayna, Libby, Ashley and I went to an underground (literal, not black market stuff) mall. There were classy restaurants (at least that's what the sign said) and clothes shops. 
We decided to eat at a sushi place, and although I had a chicken noodle bowl, I did try Dayna's "scallop" sushi (she's pretty sure it was squid.)... it wasn't too bad once I got past the looks of it. 

Trying new food is hard!

The mall was pretty neat, but I had one heck of a headache throughout the excursion, so I was in a less than desirable mood until I chugged 700 ml (I'm not trying to be fancy, I just don't know the conversion) of water. It's amazing how dehydrated I get during the day. 

The mannequins give you thumbs up as you trot on by. Me likey.

Much fun was had mei guo ren (American) sighting and acting like natives. 
The best part was sitting next to a very old Taiwanese man on the MRT and having a "conversation" with him that consisted of approximately four English words. 
People here are so nice. 
I thought that people would be like they are in New York City because Taipei is a big city, but they are really helpful and friendly! 
It's very wonderful. 
Overall, I don't feel like I've really experienced that much culture shock except for one thing.
Toilets.
I just do NOT understand the toilets here. 
Basically, they are urinals ... in the floor. And there is nothing to help you so you just... pop a squat. 
Now, I consider myself a good country girl who has done her fair share of peeing behind trees and hills and corn stalks, but I can honestly say that until I got here I had never squatted over porcelain to pee. 
It's much more challenging than it sounds. Believe me.
Uff dah.
Luckily, there are "western" toilets everywhere, so I just use those.
I'll just leave you with that to mull over...
With love from Taiwan,
Lauren.

Class I aka the best class! :)

I'm Native...You Wouldn't Understand

Yeah, that's right. 
I'm a pro at this whole Taiwan thing. 
nbd.
Well...okay...so not really, but life is getting easier!
The MRT and I are really good friends after today, and I feel like I was everywhere. 
Days here seem to be 100 hours long, but I think once we start classes they will seem way shorter. 
Today was a hoot.
I went to Mass this morning.

There were beautiful mosaics on the walls

Freakin' awesome. 
Klaudia went with me so I wasn't alone, and we flagged down a taxi, rode on the brown MRT, ate tasty pastries and then went to church! 
Mass was really neat. We went to the English service, so (obviously) everything was in English, but it was still quite the experience. The priest gave an amazing homily about having faith and trusting in God no matter what, and he even said, "Jesus said, 'I am not ghost, I am ghostbustah!'" which I fully believe is true... :)
I am really surprised that church is so far away from campus. I'm so used to having a church nearby, but pretty much everything takes a good walk to get to here so maybe that's why.
Once we ventured back to the dorm, Dayna and I decided to explore Gongguan exit which is by National Taiwan University. We found another tasty pastry shop (I am enjoying the pastries if you haven't noticed) and a Starbucks. 
Then the storm hit.
Holy.bananas. 
It rains antelope and pandas here.
 No lie. 
At camp, we say, "It's rainin' siiiiideways" well, here I'd say, "it's rainin' all around ways"...crazy. And people just keep going like it's not torrentially downpouring on them. 

ay carumba.

Because of the rain and lack of free wifi, Dayna and I were able to brainstorm ideas for our class tomorrow whilst eating assortments of breads and drinking Chinese Starbucks. 
I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. I feel pretty good about class because I think I'll just go into camp mode. (See, another thing camp has prepared me for!) 
Supper finally rolled around and I coerced Dayna into going to eat with me. 
Food is a problem here.
I did not expect it to be a problem.
If you know anything about me, you know that I am NOT a picky eater, but when you see dogs (living...don't worry!) sitting on food counters and strangely shaped meat laying in uncooled or heated piles, it's hard to work up an appetite. 

I wasn't lying about the dogs. Anyone hungry?

Anyway, we walked down to an area where Dayna had seen a noodle shop earlier in the day, and we found an actual restaurant.
That doesn't happen often.
They have drinks, chairs, tables, AND food. 
Beautiful. 
Plus, the workers wore uniforms. Me likey.
As we waited in line, we realized how handy it would be to know what the characters for chicken, beef and pork would be. Luckily, on the wall there were pictures of cows, pigs and chickens so we played a little matching game to find out what was what. 
We paid $200 and got two drinks, two bowls of rice and pork or beef, and two bowls of kimchi. 
nice. (200NT equals out to about 7 American dollars)
I have never tasted such tasty food...in Taiwan. 
We're definitely going back. 
On our walk back, we got sidetracked by the night market.
Taipei is quite the happening place after the sun goes down. 
Dayna found a pretty great shirt that says, "I (heart) Girl" on both sides and has the male sign several times. 
As we walked around the night market, I realized another reason why I like Taipei. 
It smells just like the state fair. serious. 
The dorms smell just like the dorms at state fair (pig poop smell and everything) 
The smells outside are very similar to the strip of food vendors by the beef barns (poop and food, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going to the state fair)
So, pretty much what I'm saying is that Taipei smells like poop, but it's okay 'cause the smells bring back memories of hiding fiber glass cows and eating immense amounts of fried food. 
Tomorrow, we start class. 
That, too, will be a fantastic adventure. 
Until then...
With love from Taiwan,
Lauren.

A little slice of peace right next to the crazy streets of Taipei

.campsick.

It's kind of a ridiculous thought, but I'm real campsick. 
I know it is silly that I miss something that I'm only involved in for seven weeks, but it's true. 
Here I am in this amazing city, in this awesome country, yet I still keep thinking about 
Boy Scout camp. 
I think what makes it hardest is that I know people are still there having a hoot, and I'm here.
Maybe I'm just frustrated.
You see, I'm used to getting no sleep, walking around all day, and having no a/c, so Taiwan actually isn't a stretch for me, but a lot of the other people on the trip are having a rough time. (rightfully so too.) 
I think it will be better when I know no one is at camp, and I'm still here having a great time. 
Today was crazy.
This morning we galavanted through Taipei in order to go to brunch with some directors/deans of Shih Hsin. 
It was quite the adventure. 
We took the MRT (subway) for the first time, and it was way legit. You can't eat, drink or chew gum in the station or on the train, so everything is uber clean.
The brunch we went to was at a western restaurant, so I had a waffle...'cept it was crazy and had ice cream and no maple syrup or butter...weird. 
At the brunch, I found out that the theme for the advanced classes will be facebook/blogging. Isn't that neat? That's pretty neat!
After brunch, I found out how terrifying it is to try to buy things in a country that doesn't speak your language. Everything is speedy here, so when I am fumbling between coins and bills and stuffing my things into my bag, I feel completely ridiculous.
Definitely a learning experience. 
Tonight, a group of girls (including me, of course) went out shopping again to pick up extra stuff we couldn't find the first time, but this time we had a secret weapon. My good friend, Frieda, came with us. It's so much nicer when you have a translator! 
We went to a Chinese "buffet" for supper which was...interesting. There were many mysterious dishes, and almost all of the food was cold. Have to try everything once though, right?! 
I have been telling people my goals for this trip for a long time, but I think I should write them down so I actually do them...


goals:
-eat stinky tofu.
-find something made in America (I saw two Fords today...almost counts, right?) 
-buy/take pictures of bad English (look forward to an entire album dedicated to this. Hilarious.)
-get a Chinese Justin Bieber shirt.
-learn some Chinese (I already know "thank you" "second floor" "I'm an American" and "My name is Lauren"!)


With love from Taiwan,
Lauren.

p.s. Last night, I found out that I will be teaching an "advanced" class.

Not too big of a deal, I (and two other girls) will just have a different curriculum

 (more writing intensive).

waiting for the elevator at the dorm I'm staying in

(yes, I am that lazy.)