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Location | Taipei

Today after class most of the class went to Holiday KTV. This time was a lot better than last time — we had tons more fun. More people and more drama. Anyway, the crazy part was definitely John (and also Brian). John even stripped… -_-;; for us. He also knew all the dances to the *N Sync songs. I think that totally shuts out my big bro… big bro only danced to one song… but it’s ok big bro, you can learn every dance.

Afterward, Lusi and I got A-Chung Thin Noodles and then headed back.

Tomorrow I’m heading back to Taichung. I get to have tea and then check out some glamour shots places, then to Meei Hwa Tai to buy more gifts. Next weekend I’m hoping to go Kaohsiung. More updates next week.

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taipei

The cockroach was on my bed. IT WAS ON MY BED. The worst thing about Taiwan is how DISGUSTING IT IS HERE. First of all, Taiwan seems to be thoroughly infested with cockroaches. I cannot seem to avoid them. No matter how clean I am. They still come back. COCKROACHES ARE THE DEVIL. Within an hour, I’ve killed 2 of them. Within the past month I’ve encountered 7. In my whole life I’ve encountered 7. Taiwan is giving me high blood pressure.

I really miss America. I have not had a salad in months. I really can’t wait to get back. Just think how a few months ago I was so excited to be coming here and now… now this. I’d rather be at home.

One month until home. One month until home. I can’t wait. I really can’t wait. Two more weeks of hell here at the I-House, then two weeks back in Taichung then I’m OUT. I’M OUT OF HERE.

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taipei

Instead of studying for my test, I’m updating all my journals. Anyway, today I went to Shilin Night Market with Lusi. We did A LOT of shopping. I also met up with Alex to get my soap and I met his gf too. We only saw them for like 5 minutes though. It was really random. It was cuz they were eating and I didn’t really want to disturb them. Anyway, I still have a lot of shopping to do. I really want to go back to Shilin tomorrow to finish up shopping. I want to buy some cheap shoes. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, if shoes are NT$199 I should buy them. Especially if they have my size. (I wear the smallest size here… amazing for someone who thought that their feet wasn’t small for a Taiwanese person).

Anyway, I managed to get a pair of leg warmers. The kind that Japanese schoolgirls wear. I want to get another pair tomorrow. A wider pair at least. I also want to get some more vcds. I got a bootleg Shrek 2… but it was the biggest piece of trash I’ve seen so far. First of all, the first CD doesn’t even work and worst of all is the fact that there are English subtitles on the CD that aren’t even for the movie!! They’re for some other movie. So when Fiona says “Shrek!” in the movie… the subtitles said “Son of a bitch!” It was a little shocking.

I also got the VCD for the Cheaters (HK movie featuring Jordan Chan). Plus I got some gifts for people and other fun stuff. I really want to buy more shoes. I’m hoping to go back to Shilin, Gonguan, and Hsimen to do some major bag and shoe shopping. I WANT CHEAP STUFF!!!!

Ok, I should go study. More pictures to come someday. I will take pictures of the night market and of Gonguan and of Hsimen someday!! I feel as if I’ve been neglecting my camera!!

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taipei

This weekend I ended up staying in Taipei. I’m gaining a lot of weight… probably because I stopped the carb diet… I must go back to the no carb diet. Anyway, yesterday I went to Bali and then to Tianmu. I got some clothes so I can wait until I go back to Taichung to do laundry. I think I’m catching a cold again too… I have a stuffy nose in the morning.

Today I’m going to go see Shrek 2. Wooo… I really want to eat deli food too… at least deli is semi healthy!!

I’m trying to move out by Wednesday. I still need to find a place. I’ve had 2 encounters with huge cockroaches in my room. Needless to say… there was a lot of screaming and yelling and beating down the thing with an asian swiffer.

Well, I’m going to go get ready to leave now.

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taipei

Today was a very nice day. I woke up early. Ate McDonalds. Went to class. It rained very hard. Went house hunting with Lusi. (The house btw sucked cuz it was small and the place was far from the subway station and the rent was high). Then I went to Ximen to see a movie with my cousin and the movie was: HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN!!!

The movie this time depicted almost everything how I imagined minus a few things (and this doesn’t include the “new stuff” or the “cut stuff” either just talking about the stuff you see in the movie.

Those things that weren’t the same:

1. Marauders Map. I imagined it as smaller.
2. Remus Lupin. Yes I didn’t imagine him looking like that and I still won’t.
3. Dementors. Boy those things didn’t look as cool as I imagined.
4. Crookshanks. How come I don’t remember it looking like that?
5. Shrieking Shack. Yeah… I didn’t think it looked like that.
6. Draco’s hair. Man, he needs the evil guy slicked back look again.
7. Cornelius Fudge. Yeah… nothing like I imagined.
8. Layout of the Knight Bus. I kind of imagined it more flipped around… and the furniture more stationary…
9. The Patronus Stag. So I’m dumb and thought a stag was a horse. BTW, how did Harry know his dad was a Animagus Stag?

Ok! OFF OFF AND AWAYYYYY!!!

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taichung

TODAY I SAW YO-YO MA IN PERSON.

Do you know how awesome that makes me feel!? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THAT MOMENT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I am one happy camper right now cuz now I’ve seen Yo-Yo Ma and I feel GREAT!!!

He came to Taiwan for one performance, and it happened in Taichung, Taiwan. My family hometown. Right next to the hospital that my uncle is one of the heads of. IT WAS AMAZING.

You see, I didn’t even have to buy tickets, because concerts here, they put a big screen outside the concert hall so you can see live exactly what is going on inside. So I got to sit on the dirty floor in the front row… WHICH WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT CUZ HE CAME OUTSIDE WITH THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE AFTERWARDS! So I got to see Yo-Yo Ma from 10 feet away!!!!! TEN FEET. He’s so cool! I WANNA MEET HIM SOMEDAY!!!!!!

I feel so happy! 😀

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taichung

Today I might get to see Yo-Yo Ma live and perhaps even meet him.

You have no idea how excited I am. Yo-Yo Ma is one of the few people in the world I want to meet so much. I finally might get to meet him. I’M SO EXCITED!!!

Location | Taichung

It’s raining like crazy outside. The kind of rain that goes WHOOOOOSH when it hits the ground because there’s so much hitting the ground at once. The dog is sleeping on the floor next to me and the bird is making an awful lot of noise.

Well tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. My mom has been making a lot of those sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves things (Zhong-zi). I’m kind of hungry for one now, but I’m too lazy to think about it.

Yesterday I went to the Puli Winery to check out the foods and stalls. I got this apple flavored jello, egg tarts, and some passion fruit mochi. All quite tasty. I prefer the egg tarts tho. They’re a differnt kind, they’re called “Portugal style” and the crust is flaky like a pastry, not like the old fashioned kind.

I also went to a lake where we went on paddle swan boats that were old and smelly (like everything else in Taiwan). It was nice to go out on the lake that was all brown…

Anyway, being back in Taichung is nice. It’s not as hectic as Taipei which makes it an ideal place. I love going to the Chung-yo area to just shop and eat food. Mmmm…

Not much more to update on. Bye.

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taipei

Well, I’m back to coming to the library after class. Tonight I’m supposed to go to Tian Mu to eat dinner with my cousin. That’s at 7 though… so I’m stuck roaming until then. Perhaps I will go to a bookstore or Page One a little later. Whatever works out. Perhaps the CKS Memorial.

Anyway, let’s talk about things Taiwan. I’m getting eaten alive my mosquitoes apparently. My legs are covered in battle scars. … From my scratching while I am sleeping. HOW TRAGIC!!!

I’ve been reading Hana Yori Dango here. I’m on volume 27 now (yay I get to go home and read it!!) The salad here sucks by the way. Don’t eat salad in Taiwan. It just tastes plain gross…

I can read lots of chinese now… sort of. I can at least read basic words… but there are still too many words that need to be learned. ACK. I have a pre-test tomorrow. I am going to cry since I don’t know chapter 3 and 4. *tears*

The bright part of my day, Mr. Gallardo, is going off to Chicago for the weekend. OH CRAP! I forgot to tell him that he should bring his laptop since most hotels have free internet service now… UHHH MISTER IAN… BRING YOUR LAPTOP!!!

I’m wearing my new shoes since I can’t enter the library wearing sandals. (aka flip flops) I’m so sad. I love my flip flop platforms. They’re sitting nicely in my backpack now.

Oh, I changed the date of when I’m going home. Now I’m returning on August 14th. I’M GOING TO MAKE IT HOME IN TIME FOR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! Woohoo! (Well sort of one year anniversary, one year minus one month… sorry ’bout that… hehehe…)

AHA! The book in the glass display in front of me says “First rate book, first rate person!” AHAHAHAHAHAHA… I CAN READ!!!!

Uhh… yeah. Man, am I really bored or what?

BTW!! My real address is: 台中市西區樂群街92號3樓 NOT 70… Crap.. Don’t send any mail there…

Ok, time to stop writing! Byeeee!!!

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]

Location | Taipei
Thomas: >_< you know, when you post “Typhoon is coming” in your blog and then don’t show up for a week, I get just a liiittle worried

Yay! I’M ALIVE!!!!

After not having internet for a day and almost crying about it, I’m back and it’s fixed!! They threw my Ethernet cord out after my roommate moved out, cuz it’s hers and they thought that since she moved out, she was basically throwing it out… so now it’s dragged back into the room and I have internet!!

Let’s run down the things I’ve done this past week!

Thursday: Went home…
Friday: Woke up at 4am to go with my mom to the airport. Ate at Au Bon Pain. Mmm… Got Peking Duck.
Saturday: Went to Chung-Yo area and bought a Puma tracksuit, sweat capris, Puma purse, and Adidas shoes
Sunday: Went to Dim-sum with my great uncle and his daughter my “aunt” and then shopped around at Sogo. Then went to Carrefour. Bought the Usher “Confessions” CD.
Monday: Returned to Taipei, went to Taipei 101 with my cousin, internet was out

Today: Went to Ximen with Harry, George, and Lusi. Then went to Shilin Night Market with my cousin.

Today I purchased: a pair of shoes ($11), a Puma tank top ($6) and a Puma skirt ($9)

Tomorrow we’re going karaoke-ing. La di da. Ok… enough update for now. Will write more later.

[This entry was taken from my old blog, Away from Home. Formatting may have changed when moved to Explore!]