Best Christmas Present Ever

TAIWANESE CULTURE NOTE: Here in Taiwan, Christmas is an imported Western holiday that is mainly commercial. It's kind of like Cinco de Mayo in the United States. The winter break doesn't start until mid January and ends in February (in order to correspond with Chinese New Year, which is a big deal here), so in a lot of ways it hasn't felt like Christmas this year. We went to school on December 23rd and will be going to school on the 26th. My host family doesn't celebrate Christmas (they aren't Christian), and December is just a regular school month for most Taiwanese students.   

HOWEVER.....

This weekend, I got the best present I could have wished for: Derek Shyr!!!

Two USN alums of the Class of 2011 in Taiwan! It was fantastic to see him; the Shyr family is here over Christmas break. Listening to an American talk about multi-variable calculus in English is great. There isn't anyone on this island that could have held the same conversation. It was also really awesome, because now I can understand what he and his mom are saying when they speak Mandarin. It was a day I'd been looking forward to for a long time, and we had a lunch at a great 小龍包 （xiaolongbao) restaurant. It was so delicious!

After lunch, we went to a car show. This was my first one; there were a lot of scantily-clad, skinny Asian women showing cars and speaking Chinese. Some were really hot. Mrs. Shyr told us that a lot of them had surgery to get bigger eyes and more Western-style noses.

I can't say how surreal it was to see someone from back home. Derek and I were teammates on the swim team and classmates in a ton of AP classes (He's probably helped me in math almost as many times as Mark). Now, we're alumni and friends, and this weekend, we were both in Taiwan. Small world, small island.

Another CRAZY thing that happened in Taiwan recently was that I had a chance meeting with another USN alum. John Loftus, class of 1998(ish), randomly came to my Chinese chess class about a week and a half ago. I asked where he was from (because he is white), and he said the United States. When he then said he was from Tennessee, I screamed, "ME TOO!" Then he said "Nashville" and I shouted. "I GRADUATED FROM USN!!!!" and.... SO DID HE! It was literally the most unexpected thing that's happened so far. He remembered Mr. Durnan, Mr. Robins, Zaf, Dr. Lavine, and Mrs. Melchiore. I ran over and hugged him immediately; apparently Mr. Loftus has been working in Kaohsiung for a few years, and he was actually going home to Nashville for the first time in three years for this year's Christmas. We exchanged information (I'm the first person from Nashville he has met since he's been here), and I emailed him a list of around 20 restaurants he should eat at when he is home for the holidays.

Speaking of which, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!  聖誕節快樂！ Feliz Navidad!

(My Christmas tree and presents. Thank you Andrews family and Kathy Greene!!!)

Love,

McKenzie