Day 1 June 11

I woke up this morning in Tokyo, Japan and I am about to go to sleep in Hsinchu, Taiwan. I have only spent half a day here and I can already tell it’s going to be an incredible ten days. After more than forty eight hours of travel we were finally in Taiwan at 12:30 this afternoon. Once we went through customs, our group was welcomed with cheers and shouts from our host students who were eagerly waiting for us. I saw a sign that said Welcome Wilson and was greeted by my host student Bob. Immediately everyone became friends and we had a quick bus ride to Hsinchu. The group rode on a multi-colored pink and green charter bus with karaoke and all. Everyone was friendly and easy going and within fifteen we were all laughing and joking around. The bus stopped at what seemed to be the Taiwanese version of a truck stop so that we were finally able to switch out of the clothes that we had been wearing for the past two days. After realizing that when the girls said our group shirts were going to V-neck, they meant it, we headed off to the City Hall. Unfortunately Mayor Lin was stuck in Korea due to a flight delay but we met many other important officials of the Hsinchu government. The group then walked a couple blocks to the Hsinchu Food and Culture shop known for its meatballs. We were able to first make the meatballs and then eat a very delicious meatball soup. Following this we headed back to City Hall where half of our group went home with their host families while the rest of us were able to be taken around downtown by our host students. The nine of us ate at a small Thai food shop that was very good, however I learned that eating with only chopsticks is a tough skill. They then took us to a mall that was eleven stories tall and we looked around for a while. Once our host students realized that most of us were going to pass out if we didn’t get sleep, they called their parents and we headed home. When I got to Bob’s house I met his mother and his two sisters. I have an early morning and most likely a long day tomorrow but I am ready and excited for my first full day in Hsinchu, Taiwan.