Day 4: Sunday June 14th

I had my first experience at church today. On the car ride there I wasn't sure how I would feel sitting through the church service, but as soon as I saw all of the smiling faces and warm welcomes we were receiving I knew I would be just fine. The singing done by members of the church was beautiful and it was so kind of them to take the time and translate everything the pastor would say. The church wasn't any bigger than my room at home, but I think that is what makes it special. One woman came up to me and said that she loves coming to church every Sunday because she feels like she is a part of one big happy family. The fact that everyone at the church treated us like family too meant a lot to me. My experience at church was a great way to start the day.
After church we all headed to a Japanese restaurant to eat sushi for lunch. The best part of lunch was when Amanda dipped her sushi in soy sauce and all of the Taiwanese students stared at her in shock. They think that soy sauce is extremely salty and everytime I would eat some with my sushi their eyes would open wide.
I was dissappointed when we weren't able to go to the zoo yesterday, but luckily today we all went together. The zoo didn't seem different from the ones I've been to in the U.S, but I did notice that all of the animals were smaller and skinnier. The bears in American zoos are ten times the size of the ones in the Hsinchu City Zoo. The highlight of my trip to the zoo was seeing the orangutang. Most animals hide from cameras, but it was posing for everyone!
We ate some delicious ice cream after departing from the zoo and then went to the market. I attempted to play a fish catching game, but I was not successful. I also bought a shirt which was my first purchase in Taiwan. I was starting to get worried because it is unlike me to not buy anything when I go shopping. The best part of my day was going to the night market. I found a dress that I liked at one of the stands and was ready to buy it, but then Vicky, Jesse, and Yu
Ting all start haggling with the owner of the stand. They were jumping up and down, and Vicky almost got down on her knees! It was the funniest and sweetest thing I had ever seen. I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying but the expressions on their faces and the hand gestures they were using were hilarious. After I bought the dress we were walking around and every couple of stands I would stop and look through the clothes. I started feeling badly after a while because Vicky, Jesse, and Yu Ting were just watching me shop and not looking for themselves. I told them to stop whenever they wanted to look at something and to also browse with me. At The next stand we stopped at I noticed Vicky pretending to look at the clothes and telling Yu Ting and Jesse to pretend also. I couldn't believe they would go to such great lengths just to please me. As soon as I realized it I told them they didn't have to look if they didn't want to, and that I was happy as long as they were happy. I had a lot of fun today, and I'm sure tomorrow will be just as hectic!


Favorite food/drink of the day: Papaya milk
Interesting thing learned about Taiwan: beetles are common pets