我在台灣的生活故事 (aka, my all chinese post for NSLI-Y)

大家好。 我叫敖媚聲。 我是美國人可是現在我住在台灣！如果台灣人看到我， 他們常說:
“外國人！”

“你從哪裡來的？”

和

“你吃過臭豆腐嗎？”

我常告訴他們我是美國人。現在我十八歲，可是下個月是我的生日。今年二月十八號我十九歲！我想要跟朋友們一起去玩。

 去年五月的時候， 我從高中畢業。在高中的時候，我學中文四年。 雖然我已經學過中文， 我去年八月來台灣 的時候，我很多東西不知道怎麼說 。 到今年一月的時候我住在台灣已經差不多五個月了。 我覺得我的中文進步很多. 我很高興! 今年六月的時候，我會回去美國，然後九月的時候我會去美國加州的大學。  

我在台灣的時候，我住高雄。高雄在台灣的南部。 高雄很漂亮但很熱。我覺得高雄比台北更好。因為高雄的天氣很熱， 我喜歡穿短褲 和 T 恤。 雖然台灣是一座島嶼, 很多台灣的女生不太喜歡去海邊，因為她們怕變黑。我是美國女生，所以我還喜歡去海邊。台灣人覺得外國人很奇怪，因為 我們喜歡曬黑。

在高雄， 我住在岡山因為我的寄宿家庭住在那裡。而在美國，我家有七個人，可是我台灣寄宿家庭只有三個人，分別是: 我，我的媽媽， 和她的女兒。 我寄宿家庭的妹妹也是十八歲。她叫張裘比。她也學西班牙文。 她很喜歡肚皮舞。她也很喜歡我美國的弟弟，可是他只有七歲。

每一天， 我從岡山坐火車到文藻，然後搭民族幹線路公車。從我的家到文藻差不多一個小時。雖然我家離文藻很遠，但是我很喜歡岡山。 坐火車的時候， 我可以跟台灣人們聊天。 因為我會說中文， 所以我可以交新朋友們。 但有時候我聽不懂。每次台灣人說台語， 我都聽不懂。 我還不會說台語。

我台灣的媽媽很忙，所以我們常常吃外面。有時候我們會一起去夜市然後買烤玉米。台灣的夜市有很好吃的小吃！我喜歡台灣菜，可是我也想念我繼母煮的好吃美國東南料理。 我也想我的爸爸。去年四月的時候，我跟我的爸爸一起去女神卡卡的演唱會。 

在高雄，我也有很多非常好的台灣朋友。 因為文藻外語學院 有很多的外國學生， 我也認識韓國人，西班牙人，墨西哥人，德國人，印尼人，日本人和法國人。歐洲人真的很愛抽煙！我們都學中文，所以我們常常練習中文。 我愛我的外國朋友們。

 我也有很多西班牙文課。 在美國， 我學了西班牙文。 因為文藻是外語大學 ，我也可以學西班牙文。在西班牙文課上， 我練習西班牙文，也練習中文。我跟我的同學們會說中文。 我跟老師會說西班牙文。我會說西班牙文，所以 我可以有很多西文系的同學們。

我在健身房也認識很多台灣男生。 去年三月我做了一個膝蓋 的手術，所以 現在我差不多每天都在文藻的健身房復健。在健身房， 台灣男生喜歡舉重.  所以我們聊天然後當朋友。  

我回家的時候， 我會上大學， 可是在那個時候，我很 多文藻的同學們 都得找工作了。

在課堂上，我們討論工作的經驗。 雖然我是年輕人，但是我已經有工作的經驗。在高中的西班牙文夏令營， 我是營隊輔導員. 以前暑假的時候， 我在冰淇淋店打工。我也是保姆和救生員。上一個暑假，我是Vanderbilt 大學 的研究助理. 我比我二十三歲的同學還更多經歷！

中文越來越重要所以更多人要學中文。 雖然中文很難學，但是學中文的人會有更多的機會。因為在高中我 學中文現在我會去台灣 。美國大學也很喜歡學中文的美國人， 然後美國政府 喜歡美國人學中文是因為 中國和美國是兩個 富強 國家。要是我說中文和英文， 我就能找到很多工作。

最後我很喜歡我在台灣的生活。我的寄宿家庭很好。我也很喜歡文藻。台灣的菜又便宜又好吃。台灣的茶很好喝。 台灣的衣服又便宜又可愛。 我愛台灣！！！

~special thanks to diego for checking my chinese~

Here's the translation:

“My Taiwanese Life Story”

Hi everyone. I’m McKenzie. I’m an American, but I live in Taiwan right now! If a Taiwanese person sees me, they often say “FOREIGNER!”  “Where did you come from?” and “Have you eaten stinky tofu?”

I often tell them I am American. Now I’m 18, but next month is my birthday. On February 18^th, I’ll be 19 years old. I want to go have fun with my friends for my b-day.           

Last year in May, I graduated from high school. During high school, I studied Chinese for four years. Although I had already studied Chinese, when I came to Taiwan in August, there was a lot of stuff I didn’t know how to say. Since then until this January, I’ve lived in Taiwan for about five months. I think my Chinese has improved a lot. I’m very happy. This year in June, I am going to come back to America, and then in September, I will go to college in California.

In Taiwan, I live in Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung is in southern Taiwan. Kaohsiung is very beautiful but also hot. I think that Kaohsiung is even better than Taipei. Because Kaohsiung’s weather is very hot, I like to wear shorts and t-shirts here. Although Taiwan is an island, a lot of Taiwanese girls don’t really like to go to the beach, because they’re afraid of getting tan. I’m an American girl; therefore I still like to go to the beach. Taiwanese people think that foreigners are really strange, because we like to become darker [via tanning].        

In Kaohsiung, I live in Gangshan, because my host family lives there. In America, my family has 7 people, but my Taiwanese host family only has three people: me, my host mom, and her daughter [my host sister]. My host sister also is 18 years old. Her name is Jubbie. She also studies Spanish, and she really likes belly dancing. She also likes my American little brother, but he’s only 7 years old.

Every day, I take a train and then the MingZhu bus from Gangshan to Wenzao. From my home to school is about an hour. Although my family lives far from school, I really like Gangshan. When I take the train, I can chat with Taiwanese people. Because I can speak Chinese, I can make new friends. Sometimes I don’t understand what people are saying. Every time Taiwanese people are speaking Taiwanese, I don’t understand. I still can’t speak Taiwanese.

My Taiwanese mother is very busy, so we often eat out. Sometimes we go to a night market and buy barbequed corn. Taiwanese night markets have a lot of delicious snacks! I like Taiwanese food, but I also miss home-cooked American food.  I also miss my dad. Last April, my dad and I went to the Lady Gaga concert.

In Kaohsiung, I also have a lot of great friends. Because Wenzao is a foreign language school, there are a lot of foreign students. I have met Korean , Spanish, Mexican, German, Indonesian, Japanese, and French people. The Europeans really love to smoke! I have Chinese class, so I often practice Chinese. I love my foreign friends.

I also have a lot of Spanish classes. In America, I studied Spanish. Because Wenzao is a foreign language school, I also can take Spanish. In Spanish class, I practice both Spanish and Chinese. I can speak Chinese with my classmates [all of whom are Taiwanese]. I can speak Spanish with my teacher. I can speak Spanish, so I can meet a lot of Taiwanese students in the Spanish department.

I’ve met a lot of Taiwanese boys in the gym. Year in March, I had knee surgery, so now I’m at the gym doing physical therapy almost every day. In the gym, Taiwanese boys like to lift weights. We talked and became friends.

When I go home, I’m going to college, but a lot of my classmates at Wenzao be looking for a job at that time.

When we were in class, we talked about our work experience. Although I’m pretty young, I already have work experience. In my high school’s Spanish summer camp, I was a camp counselor. Before in the summer, I worked in an ice cream shop. I also have been a babysitter and a lifeguard. Last summer, I worked as a lab assistant at Vanderbilt University. Compared to my 23-year-old classmate, I have even more work experience.

Chinese is becoming even more important, so more people are learning Chinese. Although Chinese is pretty hard to learn, people who can speak Chinese have even more opportunities. Because I studied Chinese in high school, I got to come to Taiwan. American colleges also love American students that study Chinese, and the American government wants Americans to study Chinese, because China and the United States are two rich and powerful countries. If I can speak English and Chinese, I’ll also have more job opportunities.

In conclusion, I really like my Taiwanese life. My host family is great. I also like Wenzao [my school]. Taiwanese food is both cheap and delicious. Taiwanese tea tastes good. Taiwanese clothes are cheap and cute. I love Taiwan!!!!