Taiwan- Day 1

9:44 pm- Hsinchu, Taiwan

Whew! These past 2 (3) days have already been almost exhausting!
Starting from the beginning...I could not wait to board the plane to Los Angeles. Those 3 1/2 hours aboard the plane seemed like an eternity. However, once we arrived to LAX, the real adventure started...
We all sat around in the lobby, anxiously waiting for our flight at 12...When, as luck would have it, as a few of us walked down the hallways checking out the food, Ben informed us his mother had told him our flight had been delayed, until 4 o'clock! We all thought he was joking, until we heard and saw the news.
We were all devastated, but if that had never happened, I would never have ben able to see a group of Monks for the first time (one of which who was wearing a bright pink backpack), and Eleanor and Amanda would'nt have been able to get a glimpse of some famous people. I also wouldn't have been able to watch those in our group dance to YMCA while we were eating at Chili's, a great (free) meal that consisted of one salad, a molten chocolate cake, some queso and a cheesecake, which we all shared.
After that escapade, it was almost time for us to board the dreaded 13 hour flight... We got on the plane, hoping some sweet soul would switch seats with us poor children who were not seated that close together....But sadly, I was left alone in my row, and next to a very talkative gentleman who was visiting friends, and in front of Malcolm, Wil, Ben, and Robert. Long story short, I don't think I'll be able to live the story down (thanks to a few unnamed people).
After the insanely long flight, we were informed we were not going to be able to explore Tokyo (which none of us were particulary happy of), but we were able to munch on some yummy salmon, rice, and potatos (or tater tots) back at the hotel.
Megan and I also learned to not try to figure out what the bidet did on the toilet (a journey that left some puddles on the floor and us slightly freaking out) and we were able to use some cool, comfy, paper, samurai-like robes and some paper slippers... And a bed that looked really comfy until you laid on it...it was a bit hard, but it was pretty much close to Heaven to sleep in a bed.
On the flight to Taiwan, the lady at the airport seated Kayla, Tiffany, Robert, and I next to eachother, which was nice.
We got off the plane, not knowing what to expect when on the other side of the gate, our screaming host students holding awesome signs with our names on them greeted us. Everyone is super nice, and really fun. On the ride to the city hall, we all rode in an awesome bus (which kind of reminded me of a bus in the 70's) and were able to get to know eachother.
We ended up not performing that today, due to the Mayor's flight had not yet arrived, however we presented the gifts and our names and left to go learn how to make...meatballs!
Wow, I could never know that something raw could be so much fun. With gloves, we squished and rolled balls of...meatballs together. They were cooked, and then tasted by us.
Although they didn't look very appetizing, they were pretty good!
We continued on to sightseeing, and Cathy, my host student, and I discovered that I'm pretty clumsy when it comes to Taiwanese sidewalks. After tripping on a couple of steps, I think I'm getting the hang of it now.
We went to a temple, where people of the Buddhist religion pray, and walked throughout. It was pretty neat. There was a HUGE statue of Buddha, and Cathy told me it is believed by some if you touch Buddha, then you will become rich...Wish I was able to touch him!
After, we returned to our luggage, and I met Wei Papa (my host father!) and Cathy's really nice sister, Li. We stored my luggage, and just us kids walked downtown and stopped for some YUMMY noodles (they were very hard to eat with the chopsticks) and...mm, milk tea.
I now understand why my brother came back to the States and started drinking the wonderful stuff. We walked to an awesome mall, then went home and I met Wei Mama, or Alice. The whole family is very nice, and I feel they have welcomed me like they would with family. I know for a fact the end of this 2 weeks will be a tough one; they are all wonderful!
I've just about written a novel on my phone, and it is now 10:32 pm, so I will be going to bed now.
Tomorrow: The Schools!