期末考 & 台北

As of last Friday, it's official Winter Vacation in Taiwan!

(fireworks at midnight on New Year's at 夢時代)

I rang in the New Year with a group of Taiwanese friends. Earlier in the night, they taught me how to play 麻將 (Mah Zhong) and later we ate two boxes of fried chicken at McDonald's. Everyone I was with was studying Spanish at Wenzao, so conversation was mostly in Chinese, but I also could use Spanish before reverting to English. 

 In January, the last few weeks were busy with our 期末考（final exams). Last Friday was bittersweet, as we had our end of semester party in the Chinese center. I said goodbye to friends who were only at Wenzao for a semester, but as Ben said, it's OK cause we're still connected on Facebook.

Both my Japanese and French classmates are going home =(

In the morning, the Americans at 文藻 performed Jump On It and the Chicken Dance .

The first Sunday of break, NSLI-Y took us on a three day trip to Taipei. We took the High-Speed Rail to Taipei, and when we got there, we ate a huge lunch. Jane, a IEARN woman from Taiwan, gave us 紅包 （red envelopes) for Chinese New Year which is essentially a red envelope with money inside. It gave insight into why so many Taiwanese friends love Chinese new year: everyone is giving them free money. In fact, my Chinese chess teacher gave also me a red envelope on the last day of class (I was the only girl in the class and the only student that got a 紅包; it was great). 

(found in Taipei, the happiest I've been in Taiwan)

We went to the National Palace Museum and saw tons of calligraphy and Chinese artifacts. Taipei definitely has a different feel than Kaohsiung; there are a lot more foreigners. Brandon and I met a Brazilian and a German that are also here for the year when we said hi to some random non-Asian people in the gift shop. I also met someone from England who is in Taiwan for the week. When I asked if he can speak any Chinese, he said he knows how to order beer.

(The National Palace Museum) 

Our hotel had an elliptical machine and milk that tasted the same as home- two things I hadn't had enjoyed since living in Nashville. Monday morning, we went hiking in a really beautiful area of Taipei, and though it was raining, we had fun. 

We broke into groups after coming back to the hotel to dry off, and Nora and I found a department store that sold pants that fit our big American selves. It was probably the best part about going to Taipei, as I previously had two pairs of pants, and Nora had three. (Now I have three, and Nora has five.)  We walked explored the city with Brandon and Abby and saw Taipei 101. That night I got a bit sick, so the next morning, Abby came back to Kaohsiung with me earlier than the rest of the group on the high speed rail. When I got home, I watched a rented copy of 愛你一萬年 on my laptop, which I later learned is also on Youtube for free.

(Nora and I in front of Taipei 101)

Now, we're on 寒假(han2jia4 aka winter vacation) for over a month, and  I'm hoping to get over this cold. I have a big list of fun for break, but I'll probably only be reading The Return of the King in bed until I get better.