Taiwan - The Adventure Begins
It hasn't quite sunk in yet; the feeling is less than real. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, a result of 3 days of frantic packing and a head full of crazy thoughts about what this year has in store. Or maybe it's the altitude. 10 hours in a flying metal canister 30 000 feet above the ground can sure do something. Either way, I am sure the feeling of this exciting adventure will soon sink in. In less than twelve hours, I will be welcomed into my new home, 台北, Taipei, Taiwan by my first host family as well as numerous other Rotary members. I am so lucky to be a part of such a program. I find it tough to put into words how I feel because I know that my entire life is being flipped upside down, and I can't wait. I am so excited to be completely and utterly lost, in culture, in language, in food, and in the beautiful city that I now get to call home. Since I am still very much in the dark, I will take you through a little bit about where I am going and what I will be doing for these next 10 months.
Here is my first host family. My two host parents are Yu Sun and Chien-Jung Lu. I will have two host sisters, who are also participating in the Rotary Exchange. Joanna is heading off to Romania, and Jenny is already in Germany. I am so excited for them! My two host parents both work in Taipei as neurologists. I am very lucky, for my host parents speak english. This will be helpful to me as I work on developing my mandarin. I am extremely excited to be living in the capital city of 台灣 (Taiwan) for this year. Coming from a modest city 90 000, I am eager to explore the life of a city of 5 000 000. I'm sure the change will be massive. Night markets, subways, and skyscrapers are a few of the first to come to mind.
During the year, I am required to attend high school. While many would think of going back to secondary education after graduation as a prison sentence, I look at it a little bit differently. I understand that I will get terrible grades. For once, I won't hate myself for it. I will give my best efforts, don't get me wrong, but I believe that I will learn to accept and embrace my mistakes as a way to learn and understand. I have learned in the past that the best way to learn, especially when it comes to languages, is to put yourself in a position where you are likely and comfortable to make mistakes. Without that, it is easy to hide in a shell where no mistakes are made, but no learning takes place either. I will attend WanFang Senior High School here in Taipei. Each day, I will commute via subway, called MRT here, to my school on the outskirts of town. On the same MRT line that takes me to school, I can continue even further right to the Taipei Zoo! If I'm ever missing from school, you'll know where to find me ;)
Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. I will be doing my absolute best to keep you all updated with my new Taiwanese life.
謝謝! 再見！ － Thank you! Goodbye!
Alex
