Hamburger of Taiwan!?

A famous Taiwanese food you should try is Gua Bao. It's known as the hamburger of Taiwan.

This type of food is traditional to eat before Chinese New Year. However, you can get it any time of year very easily.

I know I promised a big post about some of the bad that comes with an exchange, BUT I'm sick right now so I don't feel like bitting off more than I can chew. Sorry! Anyway, today is the first day I could actually get myself out of bed, so I'm feeling a little better thankfully! And I got so rewarded for getting out of bed and deciding it was safe to eat again.

My host mother showed me this delectable delight and at first I was unsure about it. Taiwanese food is often hit or miss. She showed me a bag of pork I couldn't really get a clear view of, a bag of peanut powder, and some steaming buns. I wasn't too excited, peanuts with pork? BUT once I put my own "hamburger" together and took a bite from it, wow. Amazing!

The pork is steaming hot and melts in your mouth, there is no bones in the meat; the peanut powder somehow goes really really well with it too.

I'm sick and I can't think, but wow, this is my new favorite Taiwanese food.

Sorry, the food was steaming up the camera lens.

My host mother told me to take a picture of this. That golden thing is an egg, it's there to show size. My host father went to the countryside (taizhong), and his friend give this to him. This is much larger than what it should be. I still don't know what it tastes like. I will show you soon when I find out.

Better picture of Gua Bao

UPDATE: new picture I took the next day:

The Return of the Boyfriend

"It'll get easier with time." We've all heard it. After some great incident or loss, somebody will inevitably say this to you. At the time you can't imagine that being true; you put on an act and mutter an agreement, but your heart doesn't believe it. In these situations you usually do feel better with time. I don't think the situation I am in holds true to this. And I don't want it to.

I love Michelle very much and I don't want being away from her to ever be easy for me. If you fall into a situation like ours you may indeed feel better with time. I take a perverse pleasure in knowing that the pain I feel is as fresh as today as when she disappeared through the gate to her airplane.

I've been doing everything I can to help Michelle transition to her new lifestyle, but from the other side of the planet what help I can give is very limited. I was very nervous about Michelle adapting to this culture, even though she was already much better acquainted with it than I.

As it turns out Michelle has done a wonderful job and is settling in nicely. I'm so proud of her for what she's accomplished and what she's continuing to accomplish. To some of you it may sound I'm making a big deal of something relatively simple, but I can assure that is not the case. Delving into an Asian culture as Michelle is doing is a thousand times more challenging than it appears. Just being apart so long is incredibly difficult for me, but she has to deal with that same pain and a million other stresses at the same time. I'm very proud of her.

In a long-distance relationship talking frequently is a must! If you find yourself in a similar position as us, do everything you can to ensure you can take several times a week. Skype is great if you have a camera and microphone. Unfortunately while I possess both, Michelle currently has neither.

Taiwan is filled with ups and downs for Michelle, but on the whole I am pleased with the way things have worked out for her and with how she is handling everything.

I know this may sound corny and dumb, but you guys are really important to her. I know a lot of you read but don't comment. Please let us know what you're thinking! It means so much to Michelle if you take the time to write. Share a story, ask a question, write your emotions, etc. If you are nervous, just post anonymously.

Thanks for your continued support!

P.S. Some of you may have noticed occasional comments I have made about the boys Michelle has been meeting. I'll admit that I do get jealous, but I'm not truly worried since I trust Michelle completely.

P.S.S. I leave for my gap year travel in 9 days. if you want to follow some nerds on their Eurotrip check out our blog at eurotripattackofthenerds.blogspot.com/

Room Tour!!

This one I did a video of. I hope you enjoy it, I hope you go to my youtube, because I wrote more about it there.



As always, comment, rate, and subscribe. Comment in both places!

I know you're all waiting for that one thing you want to know. Please wait a bit longer. I'm working on it.

It seems like central air doesn't exist in houses in Asia. Every room has the air systems. Which I really like actually. They all have remote controls and are very fast at cooling. They're pretty much a dream come true in cooling. Why don't we have them in USA? I feel like I would like to import them if I had a house... and money... and was 15 years older... Because they're so efficient. I think when I go back to USA, there are a lot of things I wont be able to live without. So I think I will have to come back to Taiwan often.

I went on a tangent. But that's because the video is loading on Youtube. So, I have nothing to do while it loads.

Keep telling me what kinds of posts you want. And if you are a new viewer, say hi! I want to say hi to you back!

Well it's taking a year for this video to process so I'm going to edit the video into this later.

ENJOY!

I'm so proud of myself~!

Today, just five minutes ago I went out of the house all by myself and went for a walk! I didn't get lost at all! I was too afraid to cross streets though. In Taipei, the driving is like a New York City on coke. It's safe to cross streets, but I am not ready yet. I wanted to see if I could find my way out of the house and back. I'm so happy and proud. Baby steps, you know!

The Voyage Begins

Hi this is David again.

Today was a very hard day for both Michelle and I. Even as I write this she is on the third plane of her journey to Taiwan. This plane left will be arriving in Tokyo in about 4 hours. From there Michelle will board her fourth and final plane to Taipei. Her total travel time will be around 28 hours.

At 3 A.M. this morning I traveled to the airport with Michelle and her family. I got a security pass that allowed me to be with her until the moment she passed through gate 21. Watching Michelle board that plane was undoubtedly the hardest single event of my life. I don't say that lightly; I may be a bit of a romantic but my life has not been without hardship.

But still, I am happy for her. Michelle has dreamed of escaping the U.S. for many years. Though the knowledge that we are separated both by over 10,000 miles in distance and a year in time tears at my heart, I am confident Taiwan is where Michelle belongs right now.

In case any of you more rambunctious followers are growing weary of a boyfriend's ramblings (you know who you are), I do have a little more information for you. So Michelle's elder host sister, Lynn, will be departing for Canada in a couple of days for her Rotary-powered gap year. We have also learned that her host family has a dog named Dida. Michelle will be arriving in Taiwan with a group of other Rotary Youth Exchange students in about 10 hours.

Unfortunately that is all I have to report at the moment. I'm signing off for the night.
Thanks for supporting Michelle everybody!

Another Perspective

Hello world
My name's David; I'm Michelle's boyfriend
Some of you may have been wondering why Michelle has stopped updating and commenting. The reason is simple; she has no internet to do so. She'll get back to posting ASAP. In the meantime I thought I'd share some of my thoughts with all of you.

So Michelle and I have been dating 7 months now to the day. We met at camp and decided to date despite the 2.5 hour drive that separated us. Since we are already accustomed to having a long-distance relationship, and since we love each other very much, we decided to stay together and outlast this almost-a-year-long adventure.

As we enter the final ten days before Michelle's departure I am getting excited, concerned, and sad.

I know that this trip will be among the greatest experiences of her life. I know she will be thrilled to be enveloped in a culture that has always fascinated her. I know she will love her host family and that this experience will help mold her future. For these reasons and more, I am excited.

Yet despite this I am both sad and concerned. Though I will have my own gap year plans to help me through this time, I will miss Michelle too much for words to describe. Some days I wish she wasn't going to Taiwan at all, but then I remind myself how important it is to her. Heedless concerns try to support the case against her going to Taiwan. What if her host family is mean? What if she doesn't like it after all? But we already know her host family is nice, and I have no realistic doubt that she will love Taiwan.

Overall I'm still not entirely sure how I feel. It changes on a daily basis.
All I know is that, one way or another, we shall still be together when the dust settles.

Bag of gifts, finished pins, feelings about leaving

Hi Everyone! 

I know I haven't updated in awhile. But I'm back!! My vacation was fun and a little sad because I know my time in America is coming to an end.

So let's get started!

Yesterday, as I was putting all of the gifts I'm bringing to Taiwan into a bag I felt like Santa Claus. I have this huge plastic bag and it's absolutely filled. I've realized it's going to need it's own suit case. I cant just fit it in with clothing like I was planning to. I added a few things since the last gift post. 

ONE NEW GIFT IDEA: Your high school's merchandise. I got a bunch of my school branded stuff. Pens, pencils, bags, mugs, etc. This gives the Taiwanese a taste of your home school. Plus, you might be able to get somethings for free with your school if you talk to the right person on the right day.   

To see what other gifts I packed click here.

Yesterday I also finished making my handmade pins!

I made red, white, and blue pins with silver backings. For more info about pins click here.

Overall, I'm really happy about the pins I made. What do you guys think? Comment below. 

It's really quick and easy to make this kind. Just break out the hot glue gun and you're done. I recommend it this method.  

Now I've got to talk about my feelings. Before I was very excited and just happy happy about it. But now, I'm still happy and excited, I'm just also nervous. 

I'm nervous about leaving all my friends behind. A couple of them are taking gap years as well. 
I'm nervous about meeting all the deadlines and having all the correct papers.
I'm nervous about having money when I go abroad. 
I'm nervous about starting in high school again, when I don't know anyone or the language.
I'm nervous about meeting my host family. Will they be nice, will they have time for me, will I feel welcome, etc, etc.
I'm nervous about not knowing the language.
I'm nervous about making friends.

Some of these things don't bother me as much as others. But I have a lot to do and not much time. Whenever I think I'm done with something, five more things pop up. 

I'll miss everyone who means something to me in America. I hope that they'll all follow my blog and still talk to me a bit. I know being an exchange student means letting go of America, but a little contact is more than healthy. 

Overall, my feelings are normal. I'll keep you updated. 

So please comment, and follow me. Look around at other posts. Your interest in my blog really helps me keep going with it. The people who I don't know in real life, it means a lot to me when you take time out of your life to talk to a girl you've never met. Those comments are very meaningful. 

And for the people in my life who comment, I know all of you are keepers. And I know we will never lose contact. And I'll miss you very much. 

Electronics to Buy in Taiwan

In Taiwan, most things are cheaper. Clothing, drinks, electronics, etc. As such, I have a really long list of things I will need to for Taiwan, but I will wait until I get there to buy. On the top of that list are two things, both related to electronics.

I need a camera, and a electronic dictionary.

In USD my budget is $200 each. For the kind of stuff I want I would never be able to get those both for $200 each.

I'll show you what I mean.

Camera: Budget is $200 USD or $6,445 NT.
Must be able to:
-Zoom (even during video)
-record long HD videos
-Not blur when things are moving in picture
-take good pictures at night and in the day
-Not go out of focus every couple of seconds when I am recording a video and moving around.
-Have fast shutter speed
-A lot of memory
(David also tells me I should get an SD card with 8gb)

Electronic dictionary: Budget is the same.
Must be able to:
-english to Chinese
-Chinese to english
-English to Japanese
-Japanese to English
-draw characters on screen

In America, I could get a so-so camera for $200, but in Taiwan I can get something a little out of my range with some freebies. In America I could buy the dictionary I want online for $300, maybe $280.

If you have any advise on cameras, or what not to get please share. Also, if you have questions, please ask. When I buy these things in Taiwan I will update you.

Gifts for Host Families and Taiwanese Friends!

Hi everyone!

Me in my blazer, with my two brothers.

It's normal and expected to bring gifts with you when you are an exchange student. Gifts for the families you stay with, and for friends. In addition, I am going through rotary so we have blazers. Rotary Exchange students all trade pins from different countries. It's really fun to try to fill your blazer. It's best to make, or buy those pins. You can try to get pins from companies, but it's very hard to get companies to do that in America, from my experience. My rotary club (and many others) will actually start you off with 100-200 pins. My club gave me 150, but they are just American flags. It's really cool to have different kinds. My advice is to go shopping for American things near the 4th of july. All the stores have cheap American stuff!

When you are in rotary, you don't start out knowing how many families you will have or what they'll be like, so it's best to get general things. Also, you have to carry everything yourself in the airport, so make sure it's lightweight!!

Gifts:
Four welcome signs; two red white and blue pom poms; like 7 or 8 shirts; three stress balls; four mini American flags; three pairs of American socks (XD); two American bracelets; two children's books; one ball paddle game; two viziers; four photo books I plan to fill half of each for the host families and fill the other half with them.

Today I went to craft stores and Marshals and got most of the gifts, and the stuff to make the pins.

Pin Stuff:
Six packs of pin backings; many packs of star stuff to put on them.

I got candy, shirts ( two shirts for 7 bucks! All different sizes.), small gifts, kids books in English, and etc.

Candy:

Three York candies; two different kinds of jelly beans; two packs of red, white and blue chocolate covered sunflower seeds; two dot candies; one chocolate cookie carton; two bags of American sweets.

ALSO when you are preparing, make sure you bring things for the culture fair. You will have your own booth! Bring stuff to decorate with!

Such as:

Two medium flags; red, white and blue stars; garland; some candy.

Please ask me questions! I would love to answer you!

Update From Several Years Later:
I wish I had brought some artisan goods from Connecticut. Such as maple syrup, or chocolate covered cranberries or something local. Alternatively I wish I had brought some American branded goods. In Asia people really enjoy receiving Ferrero Rocher chocolates or brand name clothing, for example. Even local coffee beans are an idea, or just Starbucks Brand Coffee. Even if those things are available in Asia, they are very expensive and considered really nice gifts. Generally, Taiwanese adults won't typically enjoy normal T-shirts with American flags on them and whatnot. Candy always goes over well, though.