Selfies & Other Pics

Selfie!

Selfie with Guo Guo

   So did you know that here in Taiwan, selfies is part of their culture? Before I came here I had no idea that the Taiwanese loved to take lots of selfies... everyday. Here are some pictures of my friends and I taking selfies. Basically, a selfie is taking a picture of oneself (selves) with a hand held camera. Also, because the end of the semester is coming to an end, many of us have decided to just take pictures of one another for memories! Meet some of my friends!

He looks his best when he smiles with his teeth I believe  ^.^

He looks cute when he smiles with his teeth XD

  This is one of my friends that I have come to know through one of my Chinese classes! He is a great guy, awesome cook, and an entertaining friend.

 I love this girl here! She is from China and a dear friend who helped me a ton with my Chinese! She is also one of my next door neighbors here at the campus!

This girl next to me with the funny face is not only my classmate but my roommate as well. Her Chinese is so much better than mine, and she is a very helpful and hilarious friend as well! Below is

Graduation Event

  School is finally coming to an end. Next week is not only finals week, but it's the last week of the semester! It's going to be great to at last be able to experience summer vacation here in Taiwan! This past weekend we had a graduation event for the seniors that was held at the Cartlon Hotel. The dining area was grand, and the event was spectacular! For entertainment we actually had our own people become the entertainers! There were dancers, singers, a violinist, and much more. Truth be told. I had also performed as well. It was like a singing comedy thing. Last time I sang in front of an audience, I was singing and dancing with a guy friend of mine at a talent show back at Texas A&M.  He was an expert in dancing, and said he would join me in my performance since I lack courage when it comes to getting in front of an audience. Our song was Love Story by Taylor Swift, and since I couldn't dance like him, he took the lead and I just followed in his steps. (By the way, we were also the opening act so it made me more terrified) Well, what happened in this performance was that in the middle of the performance in the midst of our dancing, we two have completely forgotten the words. Ha, it was hilarious, and the audience that it was cute! All of my friends just basically said we were amazing and cute together. I couldn't have had a better dancing partner than him.

A friend and I singing while they are
cutting the cake below!

 Well that was then, and this time when I had to sing I didn't have anyone with me. Of course I was scared right to my bones. The song I had to do was the Cups song (When I'm Gone), which I thought was pretty appropriate since the seniors would be leaving. Well, the Cups song not only required me to sing but to play the cups at the same time. Multitasking.... not something I can easily do, and right before the performance, I was able to play the cups and sing, but I could not for the love of my life do it together. So, it was actually pretty interesting. I decided to just play them separately, but so it wouldn't be boring I tried making jokes at the beginning of the performance to calm my nerves and to entertain the audience which worked out pretty smoothly my friend said and if I do say so myself as well. 

Update and Baseball!

  So, I realized that I haven't been updating, and I have a reason for that... it's a pretty good one too... so... enjoying the weather? Oh, look it's batman! After him!!!

  Still here? Ha, I guess that didn't make you look away from my post or anything did it? Well, there has been so much going on that there it's actually quite a bit hard to keep up with the blogs. So much events happening every week that whenever I want to update each week, there's too much to say that I never can get it to publish. So I came up with a solution. Instead of writing about what I do each week, how about I write once every couple of days? Or I can just post up pictures too. I'm pretty sure just reading about what I do gets boring. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I would think that just posting pictures would be okay. Of course I will definitely write several words or so. But this is my plan. That way I can write about each stuff separately and not feel overwhelmed about writing too much at the same time.

  I think it's about time I say what I have been up to. One of the things that I have done was going to an actual baseball game here in Taiwan. Monkeys vs. Elephants. Apparently, the Elephants are suppose to be Taiwan's number one and favorite team. So, guess who I rooted for?? The Monkeys!!! ^.^
  It's fun watching a game LIVE rather than on TV. What makes it better is having friends to watch it with. When I was little I was in a softball team, so I knew practically most of the rules and what was going on throughout the whole game so it made it more exciting to watch the game! What I really like to do is root for the team that not many people would root for. Why? I actually have a couple of reasons for that. 1) They need people to root for them. 2) It makes the game more exciting if each teams have someone cheering for them. Think about it! Each team's fans will just keep on making the atmosphere rise to the point of where people are cheering with adrenaline pumping into the veins of each person. People will enjoy the game more that way. 3) I enjoy rooting for those (helping those too) who will lose, because what happens if they actually win? Think about how much happier you'll be if the team you knew was gonna lose actually won? I have a few more reasons, but I think that this is enough. Well, I will just say one more. Blue is my favorite color, and the Monkeys' uniform was blue. That was actually the first thing that made me cheer for them!

At the end the team who won...

Bungee Jumping (Again) & Birthday(s)

   So, guess what? I guess you guys can tell already by the title, but I have been bungee jumping again! This time I went with three of my Swedish friends who had wanted to try bungee jumping for the first time here in Taiwan. It was actually a pretty fun experience. The guy were definitely different than the last group that I had went with. The last group was bigger and more freaked out than this bunch. So, because of that I had actually ended up being scared for no one among the guys seemed to be freaking out. They said they were scared, yeah, but they seemed calm and serious... such a different reaction than usual. But, the guys were fun to be with, and I was glad I had an extra opportunity to go jumping again for I thought I would never do it again.

  We had ended up heading to the mountains on scooters which was actually a risk for us. This time of the month the people here call it 梅雨 (Méiyǔ) which translated means plum rain. Basically, during around the month of May-June for about a month it will be raining about everyday. I love the rain, don't get me wrong, but I am starting to hate how much it rains because it seems like no matter where I step there is no where to step in but huge puddles. So, every time I reach my classes or my destination my feet and shoes are just soaking wet. When I think about it though, I find it laughable. Don't you? Squish, squish, squish... the sound you here when walking into a quiet classroom. 

  Anywho, back to why I said it was a risk for us to take scooters. So, rainy month yada yada. Early that day it was super sunny and humid out. But we knew that the weather here changes quickly and drastically, and for the whole past week there wasn't a single day that had gone by when there wasn't any rain. So we were skeptical about whether we should take the train and taxi to arrive to the bungee jumping place or if we should take the chance of taking the scooters. The reason why we wanted to take the scooters is because it was of course cheaper, but it would be dangerous to take it if it would indeed start raining on us. At the end we had all decided that it would be better to chance it than having to pay so much money for the taxi. So, we had taken two scooters with two people on each and guess what? It didn't rain on the way there!

ＳＵＣＣＥＳＳ！

Happy Mother's Day

   I hope you are all wishing your own moms a wonderful Mother's Day and that you are doing

something special for them! Since I'm over in Taiwan all I can do was send my mother a card which thankfully she had already received. I have also visited my mother's city that she had grown up in just yesterday, and I have posted some pictures below. It's a beautiful city called Shipai. I had visited her school, and also have gone her elementary school which was more enormous than I have originally thought it would be. It was a moment where I can imaginatively experience how she might have lived and see what kind of surroundings she had grown up in. I feel as if by visiting the place she had grown up in, I can connect with her more on what made her such an amazing mother! I love you, Mom, and you are such a great friend! Even though there are times when you don't think so, I know you have done the best that you can do in raising me and the boys and my sis.

     Although there are others who aren't my mother, you guys are always there for me, praying for me, and always wishing me the best. You guys are like second mothers to me, and it constantly seems like I am another daughter to you both. Mrs. K and Mrs. R. I pray that you guys have a wonderful day and that the kids treat you as queens giving you the love, respect, and obedience that should actually be given everyday. God bless!

The interior of the school - huge isn't it?

A Renewed Resolution

   So, I know I haven't posted in awhile after my trip to Hong Kong. Truth is I have been getting to tired and lazy in trying to write about what is happening over here. All I want to do is just lay back, go out, and not have to write or study. I suppose Senioritis is trying to once again hold me in its clutches. Preposterous! It's probably vacation time calling my name. No matter what. I have renewed my resolution to continue to study hard in school... and of course to continue updating this blog! Whether it's tiring or becomes bothersome to me, I will still write. This blog is not only to let you guys, my friends and family, to stay connected, but at the same time I view this as a scrapbook for myself that I may look over repeatedly and reminiscence about my daring adventure here. So, that aside, let me catch you guys up on what has happened.

   So many things have happen that there is too much to mention. So... PICTURES!!! Pictures are worth a thousand words anyways. Anywho, Hong Kong was beautiful, but I have never been so stressed out in my life as before. Stressed out and scared. Yikes, it was an experience I will definitely learn from. Basically, I got lost, and I felt I was one of the victims in The Bone Collector  (a taxi cab killer movie). Moral of this... never go out alone, especially late at night in the dark with no one around. A lesson that even I should've known already, but as always I gotta learn it the hard way. Well, below are the pictures. If they are too small just click on them, and they will enlarge.

A protest that was going on when I arrived in Hong Kong

A very long escalator... and I was halfway up

The hostel I stayed at

Cute buses, dontcha think?

  So here are some amazing things I've seen. The hostel that I had stayed at was up deep in the mountains, hence, there were lots of mosquitoes and bugs. Not really my cup of tea, but the view there was breathtaking!

Catching Up

Me at the Swedish booth at the anniversary. Arg, I'm a viking! 

    Sorry everyone! Had midterms last week and this week so I have been busy studying... or trying to at least. I have one more tomorrow so wish me luck! It's a piece of cake though, so I am pretty sure I will ace it. So many stuff have happened for the past two weeks and a half. Back in April 11 my school's anniversary was celebrated. A concert was held in memorial of it, and many (and I mean many) clubs held booths outside to celebrate this wondrous occasion. I had traveled to Chung Tai as well where one of the most modern temples was, and let me tell you, it was amazingly spectacular to see.Ended up going to a high end restaurant twice where I got served five courses... it was definitely a new experience for me for I never received an opportunity such as this back at the states. Speaking of something new, I have also did something somewhat drastic to my appearance. I had ended up dying my hair here in Taiwan. I ended up deciding on changing it to a red color. At first I thought it was too red, but as time went on the brightness of it started to dwindle down which actually is making the hair more presentable. So it turned out great, although I don't think I will dye it again for the color red doesn't last as long as some other dyes.

Ended up helping my friends with their
French booth. Can never say no it seems :)

One of the guests with her
cute cake! <3

    In addition to what I have been up to, my friends and I planned a surprise birthday get together for two of our friends whose birthdays have just recently passed. I'm glad to say that it turned out to be a big success. But, my goodness it was such a heart attack for me. Because it was my idea, I was in charge of making sure everything went okay since not many people had free time on their hand. Also, everything was kinda done at the last minute so I was super thankful that Mission Impossible became possible. I ended having two phones to contact the people helping me, and it was non-stop texting and switching between these two phones for quite awhile as we were trying to get the two birthday guest to come in at the same time. At one point one of my friends has texted me saying that he couldn't get ahold of the girl he was suppose to take care of... I replied back saying, "Ahh, don't say that." Big heart attack for me... but it was still fun to do!

    Well, besides studying for my midterms, I have also been getting ready for my trip this weekend. So, I am planning on going to Hong Kong! This will be a fun experience for me, and I hope that when I come back, I will have tons of pictures to share with you all! I shall be going to Victoria's Peak, and not only that but I shall be doing lots of shopping for my mother. Let me know if any of you all want something! Hong Kong I hear is a good place to buy lots of cheap stuff.

So for the life of me, I could not take a clean shoot of the caterpillar because it kept on moving... Ahhhh... so finally I too a video of it! Enjoy!!!

     

Hualien (Spring Break Part II)

Selfie!

   After our adventure in Ilan it was time for us to head to Hualien which was south from where we where. The trip on the train actually ended up taking awhile, but thank goodness for one of my friend's iPad. He ended up having some movies on there, so time went by fast. While I probably should have slept like the other two girls for I was still tired, the movie was pretty good as well. So once we had arrived at Hualien, we found ended up going to the beach! YAY! The ocean as you can tell was a majestic light blue color. After spending little time there (for it had started to rain... thank you Taiwan weather) we ended up heading to a hostel, and ended up having a fun night at the night market. But the fun didn't end there later we went for some karaoke! There weren't much English songs there, but we still had fun. It wasn't just us singing, but the adorable waiter, waitress, and the boss (the BOSS) ended up singing with us! (in Chinese of course, but it was still a fun night!

   
   The next day we had ordered a car with a driver to go on ahead and drive us along the east coast of the country so we can visit some of the most fantastic sceneries. I had posted some pictures so you can all see them! (Ha, and shame on my friends for being on their phone at such a magnificent scenery.

You can just see how beautiful the ocean is right here!

 

 This here was a shark that was actually caught by accident in one of the harbors in Hualien. Because it was already dead, the fishers had brought up right next to the restaurant where my friends and I had stopped for lunch. Not only were we able to see part of the East coast, but we were also fortunate enough to see some of the Ami people who are the native inhabitants of Hualien. The picture at the right are children doing a native dance. What we had also found out is that, near by this location of where the picture was shot is a school where you can learn how to hunt. Or to be more precise, how to survive in the wild which includes how to hunt. How amazing is that? To top it all off, our driver was actually an Ami native so that was lucky for us! We were shown and told about some of the cultures of Ami by an actual Ami themselves. It was truly a fun two days of my spring break.

See ya next time!

Surfing at Ilan (Spring Break Part I)

     Taiwan is such a wonderful place for trying new things and for new beginnings. I guess you can guess what one of those things are by the title of this post, right? You guessed it! SURFING! Surfing in Taiwan is actually pretty cheap, but it can't be done everywhere for in some places of course the waves are smaller and bigger than others. Ilan doesn't have big waves, but it was a suitable place for a beginner like me. Before surfing I had to get to my hostel the night before in order to spend a whole day being able to surf and play with me friends! So, the adventure starts.

Arrving at Rising Sun Surf Inn at 11 o'clock

     It's Wednesday afternoon, and I finish my class around 3:20, but I never actually left for Ilan until around 5 o'clock for I had to go back to my dorm and pack for my trip. I would spend two nights in Ilan and two days and one night at Hualien. After leaving at 5 o'clock I end up arriving at the hostel "Rising Sun Surf Inn" at 11 o'clock. It took me a long time for Hsinchu is at the West, while Ilan is at the East. To make matters more difficult for me, in between these two cities is a giant mountain pass that you can't really get through with every means of transportation. So, what I ended up doing was going from the west, up north to Taipei, and then southeast to Ilan County. Now, I really enjoyed my trip to the city for I started being able to live like a real Taiwanese. I never called for a cab like every foreigner here does. I ended up taking the two buses, walked for awhile, and then took two trains. Wasn't I great? That's how the Taiwanese do! Well, (truth be told) I did cheat a little. See, I was afraid that I would take the wrong routes, so I ended up using my GPS on my phone to tell me where I needed to go. But, I only did use it twice, so it's not that bad... I was travelling by myself, and everything was in Chinese so a little help was needed... ☺ By the time I arrived at the hostel, I was welcomed with open arms! There I was able to meet up with my three wonderful and beautiful French friends.

Before the surfing... don't we look ready?

 

 Next day, (finally) was the day for surfing! I think I will just upload a couple pictures so you guys won't have to read so much... because I am starting to write a lot now. Out of the four of us, only one knew how to surf. So there we are on the right being taught the techniques needed for surfing. Below, we are all on our way to start surfing. The water was pretty cold but thank goodness for the wet suits.
  Below is my friend Dymalie and I trying to just stay on our board for the first hour of surfing. Surfing was so much harder than I had expected it to be, but it was entirely fun! By the end of the day, I was able to balance quite fine on the board. I wasn't able to surf standing up, but granted I can surf on my knees. That's something!

  We didn't end up spending the whole day surfing though. We also played two rounds of volleyball (cough, that my friend and I ended up winning at...) and also an one on one game soccer game where I had taught my friend that females dominate males in this game. He was pretty good and a worthy opponent though!

Volleyball game - my partner had a bad shoulder but he still played well

   
  So that was it for my surfing adventure, but I don't expect it to be over. Far from it. I am actually hoping to go back soon for more surfing. It's cheap, and one of my friends is planning on surfing some more too. I hope that by the time I have to go back to America, I will be able to surf standing up.

Left the next morning to Hualien where another adventure was waiting for us

North Taiwan Trip

     SUN... at last...not really... You would think that after having cloudy and windy days here in Taiwan one would be looking forward to the sun and brightness.. Well, not me that's for sure. It was way too sunny and not to mention humid... but on the upside at least it made the view in north Taiwan even more breathtaking! My friends and I had ended up going around the northern part of Taiwan where the beaches can be seen! We ended up going to two beaches, two forts, and a geo park... all which were fabulous!

     I feel that if I just write down my adventures, it still can't show how beautiful the scenery are or how fun they were to visit.

At Danshui, Taiwan <3

So I shall try to do some writing but with photos to go along with it as well!
    Along for the trip were three French people (all gorgeous of course!), a Filipino, and myself! All during the trip my French friends would talk among each other in French, leaving me and the other guy just wondering what they are talking about. Haha, we had tried to get them to talk in English, but they would always wind up talking back in French. Then a couple of times, Spanish was tried...but that too failed. In the end... we just gave up and are now learning French!
   So, back to the trip (my bad for getting off topic), we went to Danshui were you can see the ocean, ports, and ships sailing. Around the area were tons of seafood (YUMMY) and some street performances as well! I won't say much about the places I went to.. because if I do then I'm pretty sure this would just be an even more boring post...

   Other places we went to...I shall just show the pictures :P

Hot Spring in Xin Beitou

This hot spring was.... hot! There was also a sulfuric smell that tagged along with it, but it actually wasn't as bad as I had thought. But you can see the steam rising off of it. One of my French friends wears glasses... and just within a minute we had all started laughing at her. Why? Well, it was because her glasses were all fogged up by the steam. It was hilarious, and she ended up laughing along with the rest of us.

French Fort (Keelung)

Port View (Keelung)
Here we had ended up going to a fort that was attacked by the French... (yeah)... and from higher up you can actually look out and see the port and a wonderful view!

Temple in Keelung

   We had also ended up going to a temple to see how it looked like, and later we found a place where you can grab a heart, and make a wish for someone you cared. I thought it was a sweet thing to do, so I went ahead and made one... of course I'm not telling what kind of wish I made. It's a secret. But apparently, this temple is one (or the) biggest temple in Taiwan so it was worth visiting.   

  I think since this is a lot already, I shall just post up pictures from the Yeh Liu Geo Park in Wanli... the sights were amazing. There were rocks in different forms, shapes, and holes that were made by a weathering process. It looks really beautiful! Well, until next time.