First Day in Taiwan

Wow, what a journey! After being stuck in Los Angeles for five hours and spending the night in Tokyo, I was starting to think we would never make it to Hsinchu. It was definitely a disappointment when we arrived in Tokyo, and I found out we wouldnt be getting our luggage. Some of the students had extra clothes and toiletries in their carry on bags, but unfortunately I was stuck with only magazines, books, and some candy. I cannot even begin to explain how badly I wanted to change clothes. The robe in the hotel saved me from having to sleep in the shirt and shorts I had been wearing, and I was some how able to use the sink and soap to “hand wash” my t-shirt. Our night in Japan was not planned, but I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed the adventure.
Even though our arrival was a day later than expected, everyone in Hsinchu was prepared to see us! It might have been a long trip, but it was all worth it when I saw our host students cheering and screaming our names as we came down the airport escalator. Many pictures later we were finally on the bus to Hsinchu! Before we came everyone told me that it was going to be extremely hot and humid in Taiwan, but I think I speak for all of the students when I say that I have never been so hot. I enjoyed every moment I had under the nice and cool air conditioning.
We only had half a day today, but we definitely did not waste any time. From the airport we went straight to city hall. I was upset to hear that we wouldn’t be meeting the mayor, but it was still a great experience to sit in the city’s meeting room and see how things worked. Somehow a little later we ended up in a meatball shop. It was a big change from city hall to meatball making, but we are here to see what makes Hsinchu unique. Making meatballs was…interesting. I was surprised when I learned that the big pile of pink gunk in the middle of the table was meat. We were all hesitant at first, but once we got our hands dirty we were making tons of meatballs.
By 5:00 I was finding it extremely difficult to keep my eyes open. It is an understatement to say that I was exhausted. The plan was for us all to go home with our host families, but Yu-Ting (my host student) had other plans in mind. She said we would be going downtown to eat dinner and shop. I might have been beyond tired, but I wasn’t about to pick sleep over a night on the town. Especially a night in a new country.Today was a great way to start my journey in Taiwan.

Favorite food/drink of the day: Pearl Milk Tea
Interesting thing learned about Taiwan: ambulances say 119