So I've just finished my first day. And everythign has been
Amazing so far
. Lets start with my arrival:
August fourteenth I woke up at three (in the morning, mind you) and headed to the airport. A nice man named Clarence helped us to the gate, where i boarded the first of three air crafts I'd be riding to arrive in Taiwan.
Summing up the flights: Long.
Luckily enough, the seat next to me was usually empty, meaning i could sleep relatively comfortably.
Once I arrived in Taiwan, the only thing I could think about was being able to locate my family.
As I walked out of
baggage claim and onto Taiwan land, there stood my mama and baba holding a bright red banner saying "Welcome Phoenix." At the airport I ate my first meal in Taiwan: A giant bowl of Seafood Mian, It was delicious. It contained fish cakes, clams, these chewy things I'm still not sure what they were and much, much more. Tasty!
Then we started the fifty minute drive home. Outside my car window I saw mountains, the Danshei River, and
billions of flashing lights. I came home, met my didi (younger brother), went to seven eleven with my home ma to get a towel and what not, got a tour of the vip section of the building, took a shower, unpacked, spent some time with the familia, and hit the sack (sleeping like a log).
And then... I woke up.
I found out that this month is the month dedicated to the ghosts. we
baibai-ed in front of the building with the rest of the residents (i swear its over 1000 people) to the spirits. That includes offering food and other gifts to them to keep our house safe and at peace. Then we all went shopping. We shopped, and i found out that their escalators are flat ramps instead of stairs. Neat, right? Anyway, after shopping and eating lunch we went to the temple and prayed to the gods.
a priest (?) even blessed me. After that, Andy (my didi) and I walked through the night market to his English cram school. The teacher there is going to me my second host mom and is one of my home ma's best friends. The class was very nervous but after a while everything was great and I helped out with some of the English. Laoshi (teacher) said that she would try and arrange another class of hers to work with me on Zhong Wen (Chinese). Once class was over, we walked over to the restaurant to meet my parents, home ma's sister and her family, and laoshi's with her family. We ate a wonderful meal and I talked to my a yi's (aunt's) son and daughter most of the time. Some time next week her son is going to show me around Taipei. Finally, we went home on a mo to chi (motorbike). That brings me to now: Freshly showered and letting you know about my day.
Thank you so much for reading.
Pictures will be in my next blog.
aiai,
Phoenix.
Wed. i went to taipei for the day with my cousin. It was pretty awesome. There was the big store that I would love to show you a picture of, but its not appropiate for all ages. (Think Mofo).
