I was pretty disappointed when the host family experience initially got cancelled.  But I was so fortunate to be able to reschedule for last weekend.  I got an inside look at what daily life is like in Taiwan.  And I got to hangout with some awesome kids— my host parents had two.

 

Jessica (using English names here, forgive me) was 12 years old and had an impressive spelling record.  She also loves to eat squid, play the flute, and swim.  I noticed some of her English spelling trophies on the mantel.  So, naturally, I taught her how to spell the word “chihuahua,” which no American seems to know how to spell.  And I helped her out with “spaghetti” and “chocolate.”  I watched her spell “octagon” on a video game she played on the couch at home.  Amazing.  My host dad would often ask her to translate for him and she knew how to convey almost every question.  I guess that level of proficiency is reached when you have an English teacher for a mom.

As you will find later in the post, I got to hang out with some of her students on Sunday— senior high school girls.  My host dad was an engineer, who, when it was time to say goodbye, said he would tell his friends at work that I was his girlfriend!  He  was very funny.  And then of course, their son Ginger.   He was 6 years old.  At first he was shy, but once he warmed up to me he was full of energy.  He liked singing (we had some great duets of Puff the Magic Dragon and Yellow Submarine) and shooting me with his makeshift gun formed with his index finger and thumb.  “Piang, piang!”  I faked my death over 100 times, I think.  But things got interesting when I obtained an umbrella shield.  Details later.

So when I got to Kaohsiung, where my host family lives, my host mom showed me to my room.  Their apartment had several floors; I seem to remember at least five, with one or two rooms on each level.  Tall and skinny.  And they had a granite staircase.  I slept on a mattress on the floor of Jessica’s room.  It was very comfortable.  We immediately went out to lunch at a French themed restaurant.  I had a seafood risotto with shrimp and oysters.

After lunch we made a quick stop at a pet shop…

before going to to Lotus Pond, and climbing the spiral staircase of the dragon pagoda.

The dragon pagoda was situated right next to a tiger pagoda, both of which you could enter through their mouths.

At the top was an incredible view of Lotus Pond.

Then we went home, and I watched the kids play some of their video games for a little bit.  After that, we made a stop for tea— I got mulberry— and we were off to a  tourist destination to learn about the Hakka Chinese culture.  My host dad has Hakka Chinese ancestry, so he was able to explain what some of the artifacts were in the small museum there, such as what they wore for raincoats.  Hakka Chinese is a minority in Taiwan.  They are famous for their paper umbrellas painted with beautiful designs.  My host mom asked if I wanted to paint one as a souvenir.  *I am in a Chinese Painting class, why not?*

 

Jessica painted one too.

We tried to go for Hakka tea also, but the place was closed.  So we decided to go to dinner and a movie.

For dinner we had Japanese style noodles, and after that we saw Despicable Me 2.  I have never seen a nicer movie theater, or so many couples holding hands at the mall.  There were probably a billion couples there.  Anyway, Pixar never disappoints, and it was a nice break from life in Tainan.  Though, I do love Tainan.

After the movie, we went home.  I slept wonderfully, and took a shower in the morning before brunch… a move that was questioned my my host dad.  “Why do you shower in the morning?”  Apparently in Taiwan, people think that if you don’t shower before bed, your bed will get dirty.  Morning showers are rare.  It was an interesting brunch conversation, weighing the pros and cons of morning showers.

Next, we went shopping at a department store.  Hands down the best food court I’ve ever seen in a mall.  Every option was 100 times better than American food courts.  I ended up getting Thai fried rice with tomatoes, pineapple, shrimp, ham, and cashews in it.  Pair that with some mango tea.  To die for.

They had some pretty cool stuff at the mall.  Like this bed spread:

And this DEGRASSI ad!!  Didn’t expect to see them here…

And some arcade games that let me simulate a scooter race and a pogo stick race.  You’re reading the blog of the pogo stick champion, by the way.  (Scooter video game on the left, pogo stick game behind those two people.)

After lunch, my host mom took me to the metro station to meet up with six of her students.  They were so much fun to hang out with.  Using their vocabulary device and hand gestures, we were able to get across most things we wanted to say.  They brought me winter melon bubble tea.  How did they know that I LOVE winter melon bubble tea?

From the metro station, we took a ferry across a body of water to a street with shopping and a beach at the end.

I got a scrunchy and a cold mango drink, and we took a bunch of fun pictures by the water.

They loved taking pictures with me!  They were so flattering all the time, always calling me beautiful.  I’ve never felt so popular.

Then I posed with a giant cat.

And Spiderman.

And then we took the metro to a street with shopping where they painted my nails and I got a big bow for my hair.

On the street with shopping, I tried on some dresses since it was raining and we had some time.  Then they all decided to pool their money and buy me one!  They were too sweet to me.  It felt like my birthday.

After dress shopping, we went to a nice Italian restaurant, and at the end of dinner, they all pulled out hand written cards for me.

I’ve never had a birthday in July, but this was getting closer and closer to one.  A great one too.  Their cards were so nice— they included their contact information inside and decorated the outside with cute stickers.  I finally got the big group of friends to do girly things with that I never had in high school.

When it was time to go, they all wanted to take pictures with me and wave goodbye.

They even sent along some Taiwanese popcorn.  Here’s a picture of everything I came back with.

All in all, I just couldn’t believe the generosity of strangers here.  None of the people I met knew me prior to my arrival, and yet the most important thing to them was that I had a good time.  I gave my host family some gifts and on the way home we talked about the difference between Facebook and Twitter while my host mom translated to her husband.  The kids were quietly working on the Charlie Brown Rubik’s cubes I gave them.

Though I was only there for two days, I connected with so many people in Kaohsiung.  This was a very important and rewarding experience for me, that will always color my memories of Taiwan.  It impacted my TUSA experience in such a positive way.  I feel so lucky to have been paired with their family.  Thank you for your kindness and your hospitality.  I hope I can return the favor in the United States one day.